purloin

verb

pur·​loin (ˌ)pər-ˈlȯin 

ˈpər-ˌlȯin

purloined; purloining; purloins

transitive verb

: to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust

purloiner noun

Did you know?

Picture a pie cooling on a windowsill. Peach, possibly, or perhaps plum—with perfect perfumed plumes puffing out from the holes poked in its crust. And then, suddenly, the pie is gone (as is our alliteration, at least for now). Those familiar with the classic pie-windowsill thievery of cartoons and comics know that the dessert has not been merely stolen, or even swiped, but purloined! Purloin comes from the Anglo-French verb purluigner, meaning “to prolong, postpone, or set aside.” English speakers of the 15th century borrowed purloin to use it in much the same way, applying it when someone sets something aside, concealing it so that it cannot be used by someone else. The sense meaning “to steal” developed not long after in the same century. The whiff of unseriousness often carried by purloin is not a constant; even today, it is common to read reports of people purloining large sums of money, not just delicious plum pies. But purloin does tend to carry the same particular piquancy as pinch and pilfer.

Synonyms

• appropriate
• boost [slang]
• filch
• heist
• hook
• lift
• misappropriate
• nick [British slang]
• nip
• pilfer
• pinch
• pocket
• rip off
• snitch
• steal
• swipe
• thieve

Choose the Right Synonym for purloin

steal, pilfer, filch, purloin mean to take from another without right or without detection.

steal may apply to any surreptitious taking of something and differs from the other terms by commonly applying to intangibles as well as material things.

steal jewels

stole a look at the gifts

pilfer implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts.

pilfered from his employer

filch adds a suggestion of snatching quickly and surreptitiously.

filched an apple from the tray

purloin stresses removing or carrying off for one's own use or purposes.

printed a purloined document

Examples of purloin in a Sentence

the studio stepped up security, fearing that someone might attempt to purloin a copy of the script for the show's season finale

Recent Examples on the Web

For years, Huawei had been building up its research capacity, trying to shed its reputation as a low-cost provider whose tech came from purloining the discoveries of others. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 16 Nov. 2020

And when purloined Democratic National Committee emails were leaked just ahead of the Democratic National Convention, Putin did not hide his glee. —Nathan Hodge, CNN, 5 Sep. 2024

In 2022-23, before its richest teams were purloined by other power conferences, the average public Pac-12 athletic department spent $130.8 million and earned $121.5 million in revenue. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019

Almost all of it was hearsay, rather than purloined documents. —Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, to put away, misappropriate, from Anglo-French purluigner to prolong, postpone, set aside, from pur- forward + luin, loing at a distance, from Latin longe, from longus long — more at purchase entry 1, long

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

purloin

verb

pur·​loin (ˌ)pər-ˈlȯin 

ˈpər-ˌlȯin

: steal entry 1 sense 2a

purloiner noun

Legal Definition

purloin

transitive verb

pur·​loin pər-ˈlȯin, ˈpər-ˌlȯin 

: steal