Shoplift / shoplifter

Origin of: Shoplift / shoplifter

Shoplift / shoplifter

To shoplift is to steal from a shop, and a shoplifter is a person who steals from a shop. These usages date from 1680, according to the OED. To lift, besides its normal meaning to raise something up, is also old British slang meaning to steal, which dates from the late 1500s.