Verb

To take control of; to seize by force or stratagem.

to capture an enemy, a vessel, or a criminal

* 2014 , Ian Black, " Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:

Arrests and prosecutions intensified after Isis captured Mosul in June, but the groundwork had been laid by an earlier amendment to Jordan’s anti-terrorism law. It is estimated that 2,000 Jordanians have fought and 250 of them have died in Syria – making them the third largest Arab contingent in Isis after Saudi Arabians and Tunisians.

To store (as in sounds or image) for later revisitation.

She captured the sounds of a subway station on tape.

She captured the details of the fresco in a series of photographs.

To reproduce convincingly.

His film adaptation captured the spirit of the original work.

In her latest masterpiece, she captured the essence of Venice.

To remove or take control of an opponent’s piece in a game (e.g., chess, go, checkers).

My pawn was captured .

He captured his opponent’s queen on the 15th move.

* 1954 , Fred Reinfeld, How to Be a Winner at Chess , page 63, Hanover House (Garden City, NY)

How deeply ingrained capturing is in the mind of a chess master can be seen from this story.

Verb

(lb) To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.

:

*

*

*:"I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal'. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't ' steal ."

To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.

:

(lb) To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.

:

*(Isaac Watts) (1674-1748)

*:Variety of objects has a tendency to steal away the mind from its steady pursuit of any subject.

*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)

*:Always, when thou changest thine opinion or course, profess it plainly,and do not think to steal it.

*

To acquire at a low price.

:

(lb) To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.

(lb) To move silently or secretly.

:

*1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Ch.1:

*:"Did he take his bottle well?" Mrs. Flanders whispered, and Rebecca nodded and went to the cot and turned down the quilt, and Mrs. Flanders bent over and looked anxiously at the baby, asleep, but frowning. The window shook, and Rebecca stole like a cat and wedged it.

*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 23, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport

, title= Man Utd 1-6 Man City , passage=United's hopes of mounting a serious response suffered a blow within two minutes of the restart when Evans, who had endured a miserable afternoon, lost concentration and allowed Balotelli to steal in behind him. The defender's only reaction was to haul the Italian down, resulting in an inevitable red card.}}

To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.

*(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)

*:They could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage and submission.

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:He will steal himself into a man's favour.

To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.

To dispossess

*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=February 12, author=Les Roopanarine, work=BBC

, title= Birmingham 1-0 Stoke , passage=However, until Gardner stole the ball from Dean Whitehead in the centre circle with the half-hour approaching, setting off on a run which culminated with a testing long-range shot - with debutant Obafemi Martins lurking, Begovic gathered at the second time of asking - Stoke looked the more credible contenders to break the deadlock.}}