Standard Lemma guide

pilferage

noun · 2 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.

  • /ˈpɪlf(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P IH1 L F ER0 IH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the act of stealing small amounts or small articles

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: larceny, theft, thievery, thieving, stealing

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English pilfer Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh2tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -agebor. Middle English -age English -age English pilferage From pilfer + -age.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: дребна кражба (drebna kražba) — theft
  • Dutch: kruimeldiefstal — theft
  • Finnish: näpistely — theft
  • French: chapardage — theft
  • Malay: pengetekan — theft
  • Malay: kecopetan — theft
  • Polish: podkradanie — theft
  • Russian: разворовывание (razvorovyvanije) — theft
  • Serbo-Croatian: potkradanje — theft