as in thieves
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burglars
The burglars used my pillowcases to haul off heirloom jewelry.
—
Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Cellphone jammers are sometimes sold illegally and used by car thieves and burglars.
—Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 6 Sep. 2025
Overgrown shrubs can also shield burglars from street view, so trim back your foliage to deny them concealment.
—Jamie Gold, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The burglars were in and out of homes in minutes and left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry and luxury items.
—Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 25 Aug. 2025
Click or tap here to read more about how these skilled burglars executed heists.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Aug. 2025
The deficit of arrests and charges in the case raises the possibility that three-fourths of the band of burglars, said to have ties to South America, have gotten away with the crime.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
While smash-and-grab thefts are not unusual in the area, tunneling operations are rare, suggesting the burglars may have scoped out the property and planned the heist in advance.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2025
In 2022, Alameda County prosecutors used the sweet gesture to charge Whatley with murdering a San Leandro budtender during a wild and chaotic shootout between a group of at least five masked burglars and two private cops.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Cellphone jammers are sometimes sold illegally and used by car thieves and burglars.
—Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 6 Sep. 2025
Overgrown shrubs can also shield burglars from street view, so trim back your foliage to deny them concealment.
—Jamie Gold, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The burglars were in and out of homes in minutes and left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry and luxury items.
—Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 25 Aug. 2025
Click or tap here to read more about how these skilled burglars executed heists.
—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Aug. 2025
The deficit of arrests and charges in the case raises the possibility that three-fourths of the band of burglars, said to have ties to South America, have gotten away with the crime.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
While smash-and-grab thefts are not unusual in the area, tunneling operations are rare, suggesting the burglars may have scoped out the property and planned the heist in advance.
—Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2025
In 2022, Alameda County prosecutors used the sweet gesture to charge Whatley with murdering a San Leandro budtender during a wild and chaotic shootout between a group of at least five masked burglars and two private cops.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burglars
Noun
-
Home invasions, vicious biker gangs and a rag-tag task force looking for a group of thieves after a young child goes missing.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Unlike Mare, whose community was cloistered and intimate, Task builds a wider world of dealers, gangsters, and thieves, not always to its benefit.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That's how time robbers steal from you.—
Brian Moran,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Ruffalo, who serves as the show’s star and executive producer, told Entertainment Weekly in September 2025 that the drama differs from other cops-and-robbers shows while still delivering plenty of plot twists.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Burglars.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burglars. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share