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Steal vs Give - What's the difference?

steal | give |

As verbs the difference between steal and give

is that steal is (lb) to take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else while give is (may take two objects) to move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.

As nouns the difference between steal and give

is that steal is the act of stealing while give is (uncountable) the amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it.

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

    give

    English

    Verb

  • (may take two objects) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere.
  • # To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone).
  • # To make a present or gift of.
  • # To pledge.
  • # To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford.
  • # To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in.
  • # To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something).
  • #*
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway,
  • # To pass (something) into (someone's) hand or the like.
  • # To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to.
  • #* 1699 , , Heads designed for an essay on conversations
  • Study gives' strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to '''give''' stiffness, the other suppleness: one ' gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
  • (may take two objects) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something).
  • To yield slightly when a force is applied.
  • *
  • To collapse under pressure or force.
  • To provide, as, a service or a broadcast.
  • * 2003 , Iain Aitken, Value-Driven IT Management: Commercializing the IT Function , page 153
  • who did not have a culture in which 'giving good presentation' and successfully playing the internal political game was the way up.
  • * 2006 , Christopher Matthew Spencer The Ebay Entrepreneur , page 248
  • A friendly voice on the phone welcoming prospective new clients is a must. Don't underestimate the importance of giving good "phone".
  • To lead (onto or into).
  • To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield.
  • The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship.
  • To cause; to make; used with the infinitive.
  • * Shakespeare
  • But there the duke was given to understand / That in a gondola were seen together / Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica.
  • To allow or admit by way of supposition.
  • * Milton
  • I give not heaven for lost.
  • To attribute; to assign; to adjudge.
  • * Sheridan
  • I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover.
  • To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.).
  • (dated) To grant power or permission to; to allow.
  • * Rowe
  • It is given me once again to behold my friend.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine.
  • (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself).
  • The soldiers give themselves to plunder.
    That boy is given to fits of bad temper.
  • To become soft or moist.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • To shed tears; to weep.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Whose eyes do never give / But through lust and laughter.
  • To have a misgiving.
  • * J. Webster
  • My mind gives ye're reserved / To rob poor market women.
  • To be going on, to be occurring
  • Synonyms

    * (transfer possession of) donate, pass, transfer * (bend slightly when a force is applied) bend, cede, flex, move, yield * (estimate or predict) estimate, guess, predict * (provide)

    Antonyms

    * (transfer possession of) get, obtain, receive, take * (bend slightly when a force is applied) not bend/cede/flex/give/move/yield, resist

    Derived terms

    See also'' given''', '''giver''' ''and'' ' giving * forgive * * give and take * give away * give away the store * give back * give birth * give forth * give head * give in * give it one's all * give it one's best shot * give it up for * given * give off * give one's all * give one's daughter away * give on to * give or take * give out * give over * give pause * give someone a break * give someone a chance * give someone a kiss * give someone grief * give someone the business * give someone the time of day * give something a miss * give something a shot * give something a try * give thanks * give to understand * give up * give way * it is better to give than to receive * something's got to give * what gives? * you only get what you give

    Noun

    (-)
  • (uncountable) The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it.
  • This chair doesn't have much give .