burglar

burglar — noun

1. someone who gets into a house, shop, or other building without permission so the

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who gets into a house, shop, or other building without permission so they can steal things there

Example

A burglar climbed through the kitchen window while the Patel family slept upstairs.

burglar + climbed through + window

The shop owner scared off a burglar with a loud car horn.

scare off a burglar

Common collocations
  • masked burglar
  • armed burglar
  • career burglar
  • burglar alarm
  • catch a burglar
Synonyms
  • thief

    the general word for someone who steals, without the idea of entering a building

  • robber

    suggests stealing directly from a person or place by force or threat

  • intruder

    focuses on entering a place without permission, not necessarily to steal

  • housebreaker

    an older or more formal word with nearly the same meaning

Grammar Patterns

a burglar breaks into + place

catch a burglar

burglar alarm

Usage Note

Usually refers to someone entering a building, especially a home or shop. Distinguish from robber, who steals from a person by force or threat, and from thief, which is the broader word.

Common Mistakes

The burglar stole my phone on the bus.
The thief stole my phone on the bus.
a burglar steals by entering a building, not by taking something in a public place.
The robber came through our kitchen window at night.
The burglar came through our kitchen window at night.
robber suggests force against people, while burglar focuses on breaking into a building.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Burglar is more specific than thief. A thief is any person who steals, but a burglar gets into a building such as a house, flat, or shop in order to steal. Robber is different again: a robber usually takes money or property by force or threat, often from a person, bank, or store. Intruder only means someone enters a place without permission, so the reason might be spying, hiding, or causing trouble rather than stealing. If someone opens your bedroom window at night and takes your laptop, burglar is the best word. If someone grabs your bag in the street, use thief or robber instead.

burglar ↗thief ↗robber ↗intruder

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a burglar breaks in
  • catch a burglar
  • keep burglars out

Etymology

Late LatinAnglo-FrenchEnglish

Burglar entered English through Anglo-French and developed alongside burglary. The older root behind burglary meant housebreaking, so the word has long been tied to getting into a building to steal, not to stealing in general.