shoplifting

B2 Topic:Shopping & Services
US /ˈʃɑːˌplɪftɪŋ/
noun verb Freq #15933

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    The crime of stealing goods from a shop while pretending to be a customer.

    The store installed security cameras to cut down on shoplifting.

  2. 2
    verb

    Present participle of shoplift: stealing goods from a shop.

    Two teenagers were caught shoplifting clothes from the mall.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the crime of stealing goods... retail theft
Word family
Derived forms antishopliftingdropliftingpropliftingsoftlifting

Etymology

By surface analysis, shoplift + -ing. The noun sense (from 1690) predates the verb.

Topics

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