Word.ws English Dictionary

pilfering

pilfering is the present participle and gerund of pilfer.

Meaning of pilfer

Verb

pilfer (third-person singular simple present pilfers, present participle pilfering, simple past and past participle pilfered)

  1. (ambitransitive) To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practise petty theft.
    • pilfer goods

Noun

pilfering (plural pilferings)

  1. The act by which something is pilfered; a petty theft.

Forms of pilfering

pluralpilferings

Questions about pilfering

What does pilfering mean?
Pilfering means the act by which something is pilfered; a petty theft.
What is pilfering the present participle and gerund of?
Pilfering is the present participle and gerund of pilfer.
What part of speech is pilfering?
Pilfering is a noun.
What is the plural of pilfering?
The plural of pilfering is pilferings.

Words near pilfering in the dictionary

  1. pilferages
  2. pilfered
  3. pilferer
  4. pilferers
  5. pilferies
  6. pilfering
  7. pilferingly
  8. pilferings
  9. pilferproof
  10. pilfers
  11. pilfery

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pilfering (page history and authors); pilfer (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.

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Cite this entry: “pilfering.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pilfering. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.