Steal

v. take another's property without permission, rob; plagiarize; sneak, obtain in a secretive manner; move stealthily; run to another base while the pitcher is throwing to the batter (Baseball)

The term steal can mean either: To commit theftOr, in sports terminology:In baseball, to gain a stolen baseIn basketball, a steal occurs when the defensive player actively takes possession of the ball from the opponent's teamIn curling, a steal occurs when the team without the hammer scoresOr, in computer science:In database systems, steal refers to a policy a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs
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Noun
1. an advantageous purchase; "she got a bargain at the auction"; "the stock was a real buy at that price"
(synonym) bargain, buy
(hypernym) purchase
(hyponym) song
2. a stolen base; an instance in which a base runner advances safely during the delivery of a pitch (without the help of a hit or walk or passed ball or wild pitch)
(hypernym) baseball, baseball game, ball
Verb
1. take without the owner's consent; "Someone stole my wallet on the train"; "This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation"
(hypernym) take
(hyponym) pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift
(derivation) thief, stealer
2. move stealthily; "The ship slipped away in the darkness"
(synonym) slip
(hypernym) move
(see-also) slip away, steal away, sneak away, sneak off, sneak out
(derivation) stealth, stealing
3. steal a base
(hypernym) gain, advance, win, pull ahead, make headway, get ahead, gain ground
(classification) baseball, baseball game, ball
4. to go stealthily or furtively; "..stead of sneaking around spying on the neighbor's house"
(synonym) sneak, mouse, creep, pussyfoot
(hypernym) walk
(derivation) stealth, stealing

(v. t.)
To withdraw or convey clandestinely (reflexive); hence, to creep furtively, or to insinuate.
  

(v. t.)
To take and carry away, feloniously; to take without right or leave, and with intent to keep wrongfully; as, to steal the personal goods of another.
  

(v. t.)
To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away.
  

(v. t.)
To gain by insinuating arts or covert means.
  

(v. t.)
To accomplish in a concealed or unobserved manner; to try to carry out secretly; as, to steal a look.
  

(v. i.)
To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively.
  

(v. i.)
To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft.
  

(n.)
A handle; a stale, or stele.
  

 the wrongful or willful taking of money or property belonging to someone else with intent to deprive the owner of its use or benefit either temporarily or permanently. No particular type of movement or carrying away is required.

Any appreciable change in the location of the property with the necessary willful intent constitutes a stealing whether or not there is any actual removal of it from the owner's premises.

This term imports, ex vi termini, nearly the same as larceny; but in common parlance, it does not always import a felony; as, for example, you stole an acre of my land.

In slander cases, it seems that the term stealing takes its complexion from the subject-matter to which it is applied, and will be considered as intended of a felonious stealing, if a felony could have been committed of such subject-matter.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.