Word.ws English Dictionary

steals someone's thunder

steals someone's thunder is the third-person singular simple present indicative of steal someone's thunder.

Meaning of steal someone's thunder

Verb

steal someone's thunder (third-person singular simple present steals someone's thunder, present participle stealing someone's thunder, simple past stole someone's thunder, past participle stolen someone's thunder)

  1. (idiomatic) To appropriate someone's ideas or information, typically in order to look better at that person's expense.
    • There are several upstarts, who, without the genius to invent a style, have been copying yours, and trying to steal your thunder.1855, Jno. E. Vought, “Editor's Table (letters)”, in The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine Volume 46, page 101
  2. (idiomatic) To detract from someone's accomplishments or glory; to undermine.
    • Can Your Competition Steal Your Thunder? Make sure that your competitors can't undermine your statement.2005, Walter McDowell, Alan Batten, Branding TV: Principles and Practices, →ISBN, page 116

Questions about steals someone's thunder

What is steals someone's thunder the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Steals someone's thunder is the third-person singular simple present indicative of steal someone's thunder.

Words near steals someone's thunder in the dictionary

  1. steals away
  2. steals in
  3. steals one's thunder
  4. steals someone's heart
  5. steals someone's identity
  6. steals someone's thunder
  7. steals the scene
  8. steals the show
  9. stealt
  10. stealth
  11. stealth bomber

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: steals someone's thunder (page history and authors); steal someone's thunder (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: “steals someone's thunder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/steals_someone%27s_thunder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.