burglar
/ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/US/ˈbɝɡlɚ/
burglar noun: a person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft.
Noun
burglar (plural burglars)
- A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft.
- The burglar made off with a large diamond from the museum.
- In the village itself his lionheartedness had been a legend ever since he had brained a burglar with a number seven iron, and the jury in Guildford had, despite the clear direction of the judge, resolutely declined to convict him for the use of unnecessary force.2010, Louis De Bernières, Notwithstanding, →ISBN, page 82
- Synonyms:
- burglarizer, housebreaker, cracksman, drawlatch, sneck lifter
Verb
burglar (third-person singular simple present burglars, present participle burglaring, simple past and past participle burglared)
- To commit burglary.
- The latter, with another constable, remained to watch the burglared premises both back and front, […]1901, Emma Orczy, The Robbery in Phillimore Terrace
burglar meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam
burglar in Hindi
- Translations
- लुटेरा luṭerā
burglar in Tamil
- வீடு புகுந்து திருடுபவன், கன்னமிடுபவன், வீட்டிற்புகுந்து திருடு, கன்னம் வைத்துத் திருடு
burglar in Bengali
- চোর, সিঁধেল
burglar in Malayalam
- burglar
- മോഷ്ടാവ് mōṣṭāvŭ
More languagesFewer languages
- burglar in Kannada
- ಕಳ್ಳ, ತುಡುಗ
- burglar in Malay
- perompak
- burglar in Indonesian
- maling, pencuri
- burglar in Persian
- دزد dozd
- burglar in Thai
- โจร joon, ขโมย kà-mooi
Examples of burglar in a sentence
- Little did he know that the burglar was creeping upstairs at that very moment.
- I’m afraid there was no burglar. It was all the housekeeper’s invention.
- A pedestrian was able to trip the burglar as he was running away.
Synonyms of burglar
Forms of burglar
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | burglars |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | burglars |
| present participle | burglaring |
| past participle | burglared |
| past | burglared |
Origin of burglar
16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (“borough, watch-tower”). The -l- in burglātor may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (“thief”). The shortened English form may have arisen through confluence with Old French burgeor (“burglar”), itself from the same Latin source.
Words formed from burglar
Phrases with burglar
Questions about burglar
- What does burglar mean?
- Burglar means a person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft.
- What is burglar in Hindi?
- Burglar in Hindi is लुटेरा (luṭerā). See Burglar meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is burglar?
- Burglar can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce burglar?
- Burglar is pronounced /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/ (UK).
- What is the plural of burglar?
- The plural of burglar is burglars.
Words near burglar in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: burglar (page history and authors); burglar (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); burglar (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); മോഷ്ടാവ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); burglar (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-burglar.wav.
Cite this entry: “burglar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/burglar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.