Shoplifting

Origin

The noun sense (from 1690) predates the verb.

Full definition of shoplifting

Noun

1. (uncountable) The action of stealing goods from a shop; the action of the verb shoplift.
• 1724, The Chronological Diary For the Year 1724, page 45,...William Grove for robbing his Master of twenty-sive Guineas ; and Catharine Knox for Shoplifting.
• 1757 December 22, The London Chronicle, Volume II: June 30 - December 31, page 594,Yesterday Afternoon a Woman well dreÅ¿s'd, was detected at Mr. Flint′s, a Haberdasher on London-Bridge, in Shoplifting, and on examining her, there were found on her Å¿ome Goods belonging to Mr. Kennet, a Haberdasher at the Å¿ame Place.
• 2006, Gennaro F. Vito, Jeffrey R. Maahs, Ronald M. Holmes, Criminology: Theory, Research, And Policy, page 337,Shoplifting is one of the most prevalent crimes and it costs retailers millions of dollars each year.
2. (countable) A theft from a shop during trading hours.
• 2000, Elmer H Johnson, Carol Johnson, Linking Community and Corrections in Japan, page 180,In high school, he bleached his hair and began a series of shopliftings and bicycle thefts.
• 2004, “An American”, Arlington′s Blood, iUniverse, page 82,And we hardly even consider the countless robberies, shopliftings, burglaries, carjackings, kidnappings, stalkings, intimidations and harassments.
• 2012, Lawrence Fennelly, Handbook of Loss Prevention and Crime Prevention, 5th Edition, page 171,When we described the 80-20 rule, we mentioned that 5% of the stores in Danvers, Massachusetts, accounted for 50% of the reported shopliftings.

Verb

1. Present participle of shoplift