the meaning of “steal”
The word steal, defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “to take something from a person, shop, etc. without permission and without intending to return it or pay for it.” Steal is a homophone in English, which are words that have the same pronunciation though mean different things. Steel, which sounds the same as steal, is a type of iron metal with carbon that is used commercially.
To steal is the present tense form of the verb, stole is the past simple, and stolen is the past participle form. This makes the verb to steal an irregular verb that belongs to the class of verbs with 3 forms (e.g., steal/stole/stolen). See the chart:
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| wear | wore | worn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| break | broke | broken |
conjugations of the verb steal
| Tense | Present | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I steal | I stole | I will steal |
| Continuous | I am stealing | I was stealing | I will be stealing |
| Perfect | I have stolen | I had stolen | I will have stolen |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been stealing | I had been stealing | I will have been stealing |
which is correct: stole or stolen?
- Steal is the present tense: “He wanted me to steal your necklace.”
- Stole is the simple past tense: “If she stole something from you, I’ll return it.”
- Stolen is the past participle: “My wallet was stolen.”
| Form | Examples |
|---|---|
| Past Tense (Stole) | He stole a glance at the clock.
The politician’s speech stole the headlines. |
| Past Participle (Stolen) | I had my wallet stolen on the train.
He discovered that his car had been stolen. |
synonyms of steal
- ransack
- loot
- burglarize
- pilfer
- poach
- embezzle
idioms with steal
- Steal the show/spotlight: To get all the attention and praise at an event or performance.
- Beg, borrow, or steal: To do whatever is necessary to get something.
- Steal someone’s thunder: To take attention away from someone else by announcing their news or doing something better first.
- Steal a glance: To look at someone or something quickly and secretly.
origin of the word/verb steal
From etymology online on steal (v.):
Old English stelan “to commit a theft, to take and carry off clandestinely and without right or leave” from Proto-Germanic *stelanan.
other commonly confused verb tenses
Worksheet
The clever fox ______ the pie from the windowsill.
She realized that someone had ______ her idea for the project.
That particular actor always ______ the show with his incredible performance.
The child was caught ______ cookies from the cookie jar.
It is wrong to ______ from others.
FAQs
What are the main forms of the verb steal?
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When should I use the word stole?
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When should I use the word stolen?
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Why is “have been stole” incorrect?
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Is steal correct for past tense?
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Sources
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Wikipedia. 2023. “Indo-European ablaut.” Wikimedia Foundation. Last modified January 10, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_ablaut.
Yash, D. "How to Use Stole vs. Stolen (Irregular Verb Forms)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/stole-vs-stolen/.
