burglarize

burglarize — verb

  • burglarizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • burglarizes3rd person singular
  • burglarizing-ing form
  • burglarizedpast simple

1. to go into a house, shop, or similar building without permission and steal prope

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to go into a house, shop, or similar building without permission and steal property there

Example

Someone burglarized Emily's flower shop before the market opened.

burglarize + place object

Thieves burglarized our apartment while we were visiting Renata's parents.

burglarize a home during absence

Common collocations
  • burglarize a house
  • burglarize a shop
  • burglarize an office
  • was burglarized
Synonyms
  • break into

    more everyday and less formal; it stresses illegal entry and does not always show that anything was stolen

  • rob

    broader and often used with a person, bank, or business as the object rather than the building entered

Antonyms
  • guard

    to protect a place so thieves cannot enter it

  • secure

    to make a building safer against theft or forced entry

Grammar Patterns

burglarize + place

place + was burglarized

try to burglarize + place

Usage Note

The object is usually the building that was entered, not the money or goods that were taken. In crime reports, the passive form is common when the place is more important than the thief.

Common Mistakes

The thieves burglarized my laptop.
The thieves stole my laptop.
burglarize usually takes the place that was entered, not the item that was taken.
A man burglarized me last night.
A man robbed me last night.
rob can take a person as its object, but burglarize usually cannot.

Etymology

First known use

1840

1840, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1