burgle

Back-formation from burglar (1867)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜːɡl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɝɡl̩/

• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ɡəl

burgle (third-person singular simple present burgles, present participle burgling, simple past and past participle burgled)

1. (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To commit burglary. [from 1867]

   Synonym: burglarize

   • 1867 March 14, “This and That”, in Delaware Tribune‎, Wilmington, DE, page 1:

     In St. Louis, burglars burgle by daylight

   • 1867 August 24, Sydney Morning Herald‎, Sydney, page 8:

     The New York World has coined a new verb -- "to burgle."

   • 1868 February 13, Louisville Daily Courier‎, Louisvile, KY, page 4:

     The language grows apace. A "cablegram" has been received, and $400 have been "burgled."

   • 1868, John Brougham, Much Ado About a Merchant of Venice‎, New York: Samuel French, page 13:

     Burgled his safe and bolted with the tin.

   • 1869, Joanna H. Mathews, Bessie at School‎, London: James Nisbet & Co., page 183:

     [S]he went and burgled three pears out of the dish ...

   • 1870 February 5, “American Slangography”, in Punch‎, London, page 44:

     Conceive the Great Lexicographer admitting to his Dictionary such excrescencies as: "Burgle, verb active, To break into a dwelling-house,"

   • 1872, M. Schele De Vere, Americanisms: The English of the New World‎, New York: Charles Scribner, page 587:

     Burglarize, to, a term creeping into journalism. ... The word has a dangerous rival in the shorter burgle.

   • 1873 April 21, Albert Julius Mott, “Inaugural Address”, in Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool‎, volume xxvii, London: Longman, Greens, Reader & Dyer, page 30:

     When an American says, "I've been burgled" -- where an Englishman would say, "My house has been broken into by thieves" -- he succeeds in shortening the statement by more than half ...

   • 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Beryl Coronet”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‎, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2011:

     Well, I hope to goodness the house won’t be burgled during the night.

2. (UK, sports) To take the ball legally from an opposing player.
   • 2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport‎:

     And when scrum-half Ben Youngs, who had a poor game, was burgled by opposite number Irakli Abuseridze and the ball shipped down the line to Irakli Machkhaneli, it looked like Georgia had scored a try of their own, but the winger's foot was in touch.

   • 2020 August 7, Jonathan Liew, “Phil Foden stars to offer Manchester City glimpse of multiple futures”, in The Guardian‎:

     Foden did his job admirably. The fact that both City goals came from burgling possession in the final third indicated how successfully City managed collectively to disrupt Real’s buildup play.

• burglar
• burglary
• cat-burgle

• breaking and entering
• rob
• steal
• thieve
• purloin

• Bugler, Bulger, Elburg, Gubler, bugler, bulger