MEANING
To steal something, often in a sly or furtive way.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- purloin a letter
- purloined documents
On the page
Someone had purloined the letter before the clerk reached the desk.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- purloin
- Past tense
- purloined
- Past participle
- purloined
- Present participle
- purloining
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- purloin
- Present continuous
- am/is/are purloining
- Present perfect
- have/has purloined
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been purloining
- Past
- purloined
- Past continuous
- was/were purloining
- Past perfect
- had purloined
- Past perfect continuous
- had been purloining
- Future
- will purloin
- Future continuous
- will be purloining
- Future perfect
- will have purloined
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been purloining
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: purloin; purloins; purloined; purloined; purloining Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: uncommon. Third-person singular: purloins.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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