noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The crime of unlawfully breaking into a vehicle, house, store, or other enclosure with the intent to steal. countable, uncountable

   "Essentially, Jarden makes anything that you’d find left behind after a burglary."

2. 2
   entering a building unlawfully with intent to commit a felony or to steal valuable property wordnet
3. 3
   The crime of unlawfully breaking into a vehicle, house, store, or other enclosure with the intent to steal.; Under the common law, breaking and entering of the dwelling of another at night with the intent to commit a felony. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   The crime of unlawfully breaking into a vehicle, house, store, or other enclosure with the intent to steal.; Under the Model Penal Code, entering a building or occupied structure with purpose to commit a crime therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter. US, countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

housebreakingbreak inbreak-inbreaking and enteringburglarizingcaper

Example

More examples

"On arriving home, I discovered the burglary."

Etymology

From New Latin burglaria. Equivalent to burglar + -y. Displaced native Old English hūsbryċe (literally “house-breach”).

Related phrases

burglary tourismcat burglaryhot burglaryknock-knock burglarybreak inbreaking and enteringburglar alarmcat burglar

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.