to lift
- verb
- /lɪft/
- Informal
- I have literally had the clothes lifted from off my back.
Examples
-
Someone lifted it from my room.
-
The chain shakes like a ruby necklace lifted from its velvet box.
Fiction book (1990) -
Maybe she wanted to give back something she had lifted from him.
Fiction book (1994) -
- Want to give me that book you lifted?
-
Somebody's trying to lift this contract.
-
"If I were a burglar, I might lift a birthday card.
Fiction book (1999) -
I thought something must've got lifted, and I didn't want to get mixed up in it.
Fiction book (1993) -
I was caught trying to lift a wallet from the table.
-
She admitted to lifting jewelry from the display while no one was watching.
-
He got arrested for lifting a bicycle that was left unlocked outside.
Synonyms
Take something that does not belong to you without permission
To move or take something quietly so others do not notice
To steal small things from someone's pocket or bag
To take something quickly without the owner noticing
To steal something quickly or secretly
Steal something small, often of little value
To steal small things of little value, often a little at a time
Steal something from someone in a secret way
To steal something secretly or dishonestly
To steal a small thing quietly when no one is looking
To steal something, especially quickly in a crowded place
To take something quickly, often without permission
British informal word for stealing someone else's things
Grab someone's handbag quickly and run away to steal it
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
Surgery that tightens the skin on the face and removes extra tissue to make someone look younger
A moving bar on a slope that pulls people up while they keep their skis or snowboard on
A ski lift with a T-shaped bar that pulls skiers or snowboarders uphill as they hold it
How Serious
Surface Forms
Etymology
Lift also came to mean 'to take up' quickly, and that made it a slang word for 'steal'. So to lift something can mean to take it away secretly.