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To rob or steal. [Obs.] Chaucer.

A run made upon a missed ball; as, to steal a bye. T. Hughes. By the bye, in passing; by way of digression; apropos to the matter in hand. [Written also by the by.]

To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

Like a cat; stealthily; noiselessly.

ision; formed from chyme by the action of the intestinal juices. It is absorbed by the lacteals, and conveyed into the blood by the thoracic duct.

Easily or distinctly heard; audible; canorous. Hark! the numbers soft and clear Gently steal upon the ear. Pope.

clutch of poverty." Cowper. An expiring clutch at popularity. Carlyle. But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch. Shak.

Perfectly safe. [Obs.] We steal as in a castle, cocksure: . . . we walk invisible. Shak.

To carry or take away secretly; to steal; to thieve. [Obs.]

To move in a stealthy or secret manner; to move imperceptibly or clandestinely; to steal in; to insinuate itself or one's self; as, age creeps upon us. The sothistry which creeps into most of the books of argument. Locke. Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women. 2. Tim. iii. 6.…

To pilfer or purloin; hence, to steal from an author; to appropriate; to plagiarize; as, to crib a line from Milton. [Colloq.] Child, being fond of toys, cribbed the necklace. Dickens.

Purloining; stealing; plagiarizing. [Colloq.]

tic coast (Ctenolabrus adspersus); -- called also chogset, burgall, blue perch, and bait stealer. [Written also conner.]

One who cuts purses for the sake of stealing them or their contents (an act common when men wore purses fastened by a string to their girdles); one who steals from the person; a pickpocket To have an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cutpurse. Shak.

To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud. [Obs.] Plant fruit trees in large borders, and set therein fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive the trees. Bacon.

The hunting of deer on foot, by stealing upon them unawares.

clear from anything that hinders the passage of fluids; as, to deobstruct the pores or lacteals. Arbuthnot.

sons doing unlawful acts in disguise are subject to heavy penalties. There is no passion steals into the heart more imperceptibly and covers itself under more disguises, than pride. Addison.

by lying dormant a long time, or being . . . very rarely exercised, that arbitrary power steals upon a people. Burke.

vely: Soft; placid; soothing; quiet. "A downy shower." Keble. "Downy pillow." Pope. Time steals on with downy feet. Young.