a person who steals something from another person or place 贼；小偷；窃贼 a car/jewel thief 偷车/偷珠宝的贼 a gang of thieves 一伙窃贼 Thieves stole £70 000 worth of jewellery from his home. 小偷从他家里偷了价值7万英镑的珠宝。 a petty thief (= who steals items of quite low value) 小偷 It is the fourth time the shop has been targeted by thieves. 这是该店第四次被小偷盯上。
Collocations Crimesee also theftCrime 犯罪 Committing a crime 犯罪 - commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
犯罪／谋杀罪／暴力侵犯他人身体罪／残杀罪／持械抢劫罪／诈骗罪 - be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking
参与恐怖主义活动；涉嫌纵火袭击；参与人口走私／人口贩卖 - engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
参与犯罪活动／非法活动／愚昧的故意毁坏他人财产的行为 - steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
偷某人的钱包／手机 - rob a bank/a person/a tourist
抢劫银行／他人／游客 - break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
入室盗窃 - hijack a plane/ship/bus
劫持飞机／轮船／公共汽车 - smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants
走私毒品／武器／军火；偷运移民 - launder drug money (through something)
（通过…）洗毒资 - forge documents/certificates/passports
伪造文件／证件／护照 - take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
索取／收受贿赂；向（某人）行贿 - run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
进行网络钓鱼／电子邮件／互联网诈骗
Fighting crime 打击犯罪 - combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
打击犯罪／恐怖主义／腐败／贩毒 - prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
防止／阻止信用卡诈骗／虐待儿童／软件盗版 - deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
威慑／阻止犯罪分子／入室盗窃者／小偷／商店扒手／故意破坏公物者 - reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
减少／处理／严厉打击持刀／持枪／暴力／街头犯罪／反社会行为 - foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
挫败一起银行抢劫案／一次恐怖分子的阴谋 - help/support/protect the victims of crime
帮助／支持／保护犯罪活动的受害者
Investigating crime 调查犯罪活动 - report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
向警方举报不法行为／偷窃案／强奸案／袭击事件／暴力事件 - witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
目击犯罪／袭击／谋杀／暴力事件 - investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
调查谋杀案／蓄意杀人案／入室盗窃案／抢劫案／涉嫌的暴力事件 - conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
进行／开始／继续（对…的）调查／警方调查／谋杀案调查 - investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
调查／重新审理犯罪／谋杀案件 - examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
仔细检查／调查／查找犯罪现场的指纹 - collect/gather forensic evidence
收集法医证据 - uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
发现新证据／诈骗／欺诈／密谋／阴谋／政治腐败／私藏武器 - describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
描述／指认嫌疑犯／罪犯／作恶者／攻击者／袭击者 - question/interrogate a suspect/witness
询问嫌疑人／目击证人 - solve/crack the case
破案
Extra ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmenta2A thief snatched her handbag containing her wages. 一个小偷抢走了她的手提包，里面装着她的工资。 The alarm is usually sufficient to deter a would-be thief. 警报器通常足以使想要行窃的人罢手。 The thief struck while the family were out. 盗贼趁这家人外出时下了手。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- would-be
- common
- petty
- …
- gang
- catch
- snatch something
- steal something
- take something
- …
Word OriginOld English thīof, thēof, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dief and German Dieb, also to theft.
Idioms
(there is) honour among thieves
- (saying)
used to say that even criminals have standards of behaviour that they respect 盗亦有道
(as) thick as thieves
- (informal)
(of two or more people 两个或以上的人 very friendly, especially in a way that makes other people suspect that something wrong, illegal or dishonest is involved in the situation 非常友好；亲密无间；过从甚密