shoplift

UK/ˈʃɒplɪft/US/ˈʃɒplɪft/

verbB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,751 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: shoplifting, shoplifted, shoplifts

To shoplift is to steal goods from a shop while pretending to shop. Caught trying to shoplift.

The pretence is what defines it, since walking in and taking something openly is a different offence. Shops lose more to shoplift losses and staff theft together than to anything else.

Definitions of shoplift

1verbshopliftTo steal goods from a shop while pretending to shop.B2+
“He was caught trying to shoplift a jar of coffee.”

shoplift is a stealing.

Where it comes from

Shop plus lift, in the old slang sense of lift meaning to steal.

From shop + lift, after shoplifting, shoplifter, and shoplift#Noun.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

shoplift in the wild

The terms shoplifting and shoplifter are not usually defined in law, and generally fall under larceny.
Shoplifting
In the retail industry, the word shrinkage (or shrink) is used to refer to merchandise often lost by shoplifting.
Shoplifting
A booster bag is a handmade bag used to shoplift, typically from retail stores, libraries, and any other location employing electronic security detectors to deter theft.
Booster bag
The name "booster bag" comes from "boost" in the slang sense of "to shoplift".
Booster bag
As Harlins approached the register, Du accused her of attempting to shoplift, which Harlins denied.
Killing of Latasha Harlins

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

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