pickpocket
/ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.50 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One who steals from the pocket of a passerby, usually by sleight of hand.
Example Sentences
- "Old men, young men, and boys, stalwart burglars and highway robbers, slept side by side with wizened pickpockets or cunning-featured area-sneaks."
- "For several days, Mr. Sammler returning on the customary bus late afternoons from the Forty-second Street Library had been watching a pickpocket at work […] Mr. Sammler if he had not been a tall straphanger would not with his one good eye have seen these things happening."
- "Vodafone has also dropped its claim against one of Rhys Edwards’s travelling companions – who had been at the same reunion and had his phone pickpocketed two hours later in almost identical circumstances to Rhys Edwards."
Etymology
Etymology tree English pick Proto-Germanic *puhô Frankish *pokōbor. Old French poche Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Latin -ittus Old French -ete Anglo-Norman poketbor. Middle English pocket English pocket English pickpocket From pick + pocket.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈpɪkpɒkɪt/