as in thief
a person who illegally enters a building in order to steal things; a person who commits burglary
The burglar had broken into several homes in the neighborhood.
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Recent Examples of burglar
In November, burglars broke into the home searching for memorabilia, the suit alleges.
—
Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Officers learned burglars hid a camouflaged camera in the bushes outside a home before fleeing the scene.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026
The active theory was that the assailants were career burglars or career thugs or worse.
—Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The movie’s biggest laughs come from Kevin’s hijinks, which involve setting up complex booby traps to fend off a pair of burglars targeting his family’s home.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for burglar
Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Officers learned burglars hid a camouflaged camera in the bushes outside a home before fleeing the scene.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026
The active theory was that the assailants were career burglars or career thugs or worse.
—Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The movie’s biggest laughs come from Kevin’s hijinks, which involve setting up complex booby traps to fend off a pair of burglars targeting his family’s home.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for burglar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burglar
Noun
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Her life’s work was stolen early Monday when thieves swiped a shipping box containing many of her puppets from outside her Beachwood Canyon apartment.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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The story revolves around Davis, the sort of gentleman bandit who thoughtfully returns his victims’ cell phones before making his departure and who, in the grand tradition of cinematic thieves, is looking to get out of the business after that last big score.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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How did robbers break into the Louvre?—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
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The man Cherry robbed went home and called police, providing a description of his robber that included the outfit, prosecutors.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Burglar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burglar. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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