Definition of "purloin" [pur•loin]

• To steal, often in a violation of trust. See Synonyms at steal. (verb-transitive)
• To commit theft. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Les Synonyms: dérober = to purloin chiper = to swipe, filch piquer = to pinch, to nick"
• "He decides to purloin the urn and find out how it got into the back of that cab."
• "In court papers, the artist group says it believed they had permission to remove the painting as long as they didn't attempt to purloin any scrap metal."