thief
noun [ C ] uk/θiːf/ us/θiːf/ thieves
B1 小偷，贼
a person who steals
The art gallery was broken into last night, and the thieves got away with two valuable paintings. 艺术馆昨晚遭入室盗窃，被偷走了两幅珍贵的画。
See also: theft
- More examples
- The thief had disturbed the documents in her filing cabinet, but nothing had been taken.
- The diamond thief double-crossed his partners and gave them only worthless fake jewels.
- It's said that a barking dog puts off the opportunist thief.
- The police believe he is the thief, but all the evidence suggests otherwise .
- The thief broke into the office while his accomplice stalled off the security guard.
Idioms
it takes a thief to catch a thiefidiom saying 以贼捕贼；以毒攻毒。
used to mean that one dishonest person can guess what another dishonest person might do
like a thief in the nightidiom 秘密地；出乎意料地
secretly or unexpectedly and without being seen