What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Rod vs Steal - What's the difference?

rod | steal |

As nouns the difference between rod and steal

is that rod is road, roadstead while steal is the act of stealing.

As a verb steal is

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

rod

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A straight, round stick, shaft, bar, cane, or staff.
  • :The circus strong man proved his strength by bending an iron rod , and then straightening it.
  • (fishing) A long slender usually tapering pole used for angling; fishing rod.
  • :When I hooked a snake and not a fish, I got so scared I dropped my rod in the water.
  • A stick, pole, or bundle of switches or twigs (such as a birch), used for personal defense or to administer corporal punishment by whipping.
  • *, II.8:
  • *:So was I brought up: they tell mee, that in all my youth, I never felt rod but twice, and that very lightly.
  • An implement resembling and/or supplanting a rod (particularly a cane) that is used for corporal punishment, and metonymically called the rod , regardless of its actual shape and composition.
  • :The judge imposed on the thief a sentence of fifteen strokes with the rod .
  • A stick used to measure distance, by using its established length or task-specific temporary marks along its length, or by dint of specific graduated marks.
  • :I notched a rod and used it to measure the length of rope to cut.
  • (senseid)(archaic) A unit of length equal to 1 pole, a perch, ¼ chain, 5½ yards, 16½ feet, or exactly 5.0292 meters (these being all equivalent).
  • *1842 , (Edgar Allan Poe), ‘The Mystery of Marie Rogêt’:
  • *:‘And this thicket, so full of a natural art, was in the immediate vicinity, within a few rods , of the dwelling of Madame Deluc, whose boys were in the habit of closely examining the shrubberies about them in search of the bark of the sassafras.’
  • *1865 , , '' Cape Cod
  • *:In one of the villages I saw the next summer a cow tethered by a rope six rods long.
  • *1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Ch.I:
  • *:A few rods farther led him past the old black Presbyterian church, with its square tower, embowered in a stately grove; past the Catholic church, with its many crosses, and a painted wooden figure of St. James in a recess beneath the gable; and past the old Jefferson House, once the leading hotel of the town, in front of which political meetings had been held, and political speeches made, and political hard cider drunk, in the days of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too."
  • An implement held vertically and viewed through an optical surveying instrument such as a transit, used to measure distance in land surveying and construction layout; an engineer's rod, surveyor's rod, surveying rod, leveling rod, ranging rod. The modern (US) engineer's or surveyor's rod commonly is eight or ten feet long and often designed to extend higher. In former times a surveyor's rod often was a single wooden pole or composed of multiple sectioned and socketed pieces, and besides serving as a sighting target was used to measure distance on the ground horizontally, hence for convenience was of one rod or pole in length, that is, 5½ yards.
  • (archaic) A unit of area equal to a square rod, 30¼ square yards or 1/160 acre.
  • :The house had a small yard of about six rods in size.
  • A straight bar that unites moving parts of a machine, for holding parts together as a connecting rod or for transferring power as a drive-shaft.
  • :The engine threw a rod , and then went to pieces before our eyes, springs and coils shooting in all directions.
  • (anatomy) Short for rod cell, a rod-shaped cell in the eye that is sensitive to light.
  • :The rods are more sensitive than the cones, but do not discern color.
  • (biology) Any of a number of long, slender microorganisms.
  • :He applied a gram positive stain, looking for rods indicative of ''Listeria''.
  • (chemistry) A stirring rod : a glass rod, typically about 6 inches to 1 foot long and 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter that can be used to stir liquids in flasks or beakers.
  • (slang) A pistol; a gun.
  • (slang) A penis.
  • (slang) A hot rod, an automobile or other passenger motor vehicle modified to run faster and often with exterior cosmetic alterations, especially one based originally on a pre-1940s model or (currently) denoting any older vehicle thus modified.
  • (ufology) rod-shaped objects which appear in photographs and videos traveling at high speed, not seen by the person recording the event, often associated with extraterrestrial entities.
  • *2000 , Jack Barranger, Paul Tice, Mysteries Explored: The Search for Human Origins, Ufos, and Religious Beginnings , Book Three, p.37:
  • *:These cylindrical rods fly through the air at incredible speeds and can only be picked up by high-speed cameras.
  • *2009 , Barry Conrad, An Unknown Encounter: A True Account of the San Pedro Haunting , Dorrance Publishing, pp.129–130:
  • *:During one such broadcast in 1997, the esteemed radio host bellowed, “I got a fax earlier today from MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) in Arizona and they said what you think are rods are actually insects!”
  • *2010 , Deena West Budd, The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology: Werewolves, Dragons, Skyfish, Lizard Men, and Other Fascinating Creatures Real and Mysterious , Weiser Books, p.15:
  • *:He tells of a home video showing a rod flying into the open mouth of a girl singing at a wedding.
  • (mathematics) A (w).
  • Synonyms

    * See also * See also * (objects in photographs and videos) skyfish

    Derived terms

    * divining rod * rodbuster * rod for one's back * rodman * rod-shaped * Lightning rod Lightning conductor or rod in OSM *

    See also

    * crook

    References

    Anagrams

    * (l), * (l) * (l) * (l)

    Verb

  • To penetrate sexually.
  • * 1968 , David Lynn, Bull nuts
  • On impulse he moved around to the opposite side of the couple, in the direction which Grace's broad buttocks were pointed, for a full view of the big boned woman's back side. Now Grace wouldn't mind one iota if he rodded her from the rear.
    ----

    steal

    English

    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.}}

    Synonyms

    * (to illegally take possession of) flog, (Cockney rhyming slang) half-inch, (slang) knock off, (slang) jack, lift, nick, pinch, pocket, rob, thieve, confiscate, convert * (to secretly move) sneak * See also

    Antonyms

    * (acquire licitly ) receive, purchase, buy, earn * (provide freely ) donate, bestow, grant

    Troponyms

    * shoplift

    See also

    * burglarize * burgle * confiscate * pickpocket * pilfer * steal away

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of stealing.
  • A piece of merchandise available at a very attractive price.
  • At this price, this car is a steal .
  • (basketball, ice hockey) A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.
  • (baseball) A stolen base.
  • (curling) Scoring in an end without the hammer.
  • (computing) A policy in database systems that a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs
  • Synonyms

    * (merchandise available at a very attractive price) bargain

    References