Use vs Steal - What's the difference?

Use is a related term of steal.

As verbs the difference between use and steal

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

As a noun steal is

the act of stealing.

use

English

(wikipedia use)

Alternative forms

* (archaic)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) from Old English nytt.

Noun

(en noun)

The act of using.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington

, volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}

Usefulness, benefit.

* Milton

God made two great lights, great for their use / To man.

* Alexander Pope

'Tis use alone that sanctifies expense.

A function; a purpose for which something may be employed.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)

, volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.}}

Occasion or need to employ; necessity.

I have no further use for these textbooks.

(obsolete, rare) Interest for lent money; premium paid for the use of something; usury.

* 1599 , (William Shakespeare), (Much Ado About Nothing) ,

DON PEDRO. Come, lady, come; you have lost the heart of Signior Benedick.

BEATRICE. Indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for a single one: [...]

* Jeremy Taylor

Thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, use and principal, to him.

(archaic) Continued or repeated practice; usage; habit.

* Spenser

Let later age that noble use envy.

* Shakespeare

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, / Seem to me all the uses of this world!

(obsolete) Common occurrence; ordinary experience.

* Shakespeare

O Caesar! these things are beyond all use .

(religion) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese.

the Sarum, or Canterbury, use'''; the Hereford '''use'''; the York '''use'''; the Roman '''use ; etc.

* Book of Common Prayer

From henceforth all the whole realm shall have but one use .

(forging) A slab of iron welded to the side of a forging, such as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging.

Synonyms

* (act of using) employment, usage, note, nait * (usefulness) benefit, good, point, usefulness, utility, note, nait

Derived terms

* disuse * fair use * hyper-use * misuse * no use * overuse * reuse * underuse * useful * useless * usement * what’s the use

Etymology 2

From (etyl) ).

Verb

(us)

(archaic) To accustom; to habituate.

*(John Milton) (1608–1674)

*:Thou with thy compeers, / Used to the yoke, draw'st his triumphant wheels.

To employ; to apply; to utilize.

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan

, title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.

To exhaust the supply of; to consume by employing

To exploit.

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author= Katie L. Burke

, magazine=(American Scientist), title= In the News , passage=Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.}}

(dated) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat.

*(John Milton) (1608–1674)

*:How wouldst thou use me now?

*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)

*:Cato has used me ill.

To habitually do; to be wont to do.

*Bible, 1 (w) iv.9

*:Use hospitality one to another.

*, I.48:

*:Peter Pol'', doctor in divinitie used to sit upon his mule, who as ''Monstrelet'' reporteth, was wont to ride up and downe the streets of ''Paris , ever sitting sideling, as women use .

* 1693 , Sir Norman Knatchbull, Annotations upon some difficult texts in all the books of the New Testament

For in the Rites of funeration they did use to anoint the dead body, with Aromatick Spices and Oyntments, before they buried them.

(past tense with infinitive) To habitually do. See used to.

Synonyms

* engage, utilise * (exploit) take advantage of

Derived terms

* abuse * disuse * reuse * misuse * usability * usable * usage * used * used to * useful * user

References

Statistics

Anagrams

* * * 100 English basic words English heteronyms 1000 English basic words ----

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

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