Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

thief in the night

/θiːf ɪn ðə naɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.87 in modern English

Syllables: thief in the night
IPA: /θiːf ɪn ðə naɪt/

28

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something stealthy or that occurs without warning.

Example Sentences

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."

Etymology

A calque from Ancient Greek κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί (kléptēs en nuktí).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: κλέπτης ἐν νυκτί

Inflected Forms

thieves in the night (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce thief in the night?: The recorded pronunciation is /θiːf ɪn ðə naɪt/.
What does thief in the night mean?: Something stealthy or that occurs without warning.
Where does thief in the night come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce thief in the night

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “thief in the night”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/θiːf ɪn ðə naɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “thief in the night”.
Repeat and practice — Say “thief in the night” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.