Phrase guide

petty theft

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A theft of property having a value lower than a certain small amount set forth in a statute, and considered to be a less serious class of crime.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: petty larceny

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 小偷小摸 (xiǎotōuxiǎomō) — theft of property of low value
  • Finnish: näpistys — theft of property of low value
  • French: larcin — theft of property of low value
  • French: chapardage — theft of property of low value
  • Galician: furto — theft of property of low value
  • German: Bagatelldiebstahl — theft of property of low value
  • Japanese: こそ泥 (kosodoro) — theft of property of low value
  • Polish: drobna kradzież — theft of property of low value
  • Russian: ме́лкая кра́жа (mélkaja kráža) — theft of property of low value
  • Spanish: hurto — theft of property of low value
  • Spanish: furto (disused) — theft of property of low value
  • Spanish: ratería — theft of property of low value
  • Swedish: snatteri — theft of property of low value
  • Swedish: ringa stöld — theft of property of low value
  • Ottoman Turkish: قایش (kayış) — theft of property of low value
  • Welsh: mân ladrad — theft of property of low value