/ ˈbɜːgləri; NAmE ˈbɜːrg-/ noun
[ U , C ] ( pl. -ies ) the crime of entering a building illegally and stealing things from it
SYN housebreaking :
The youth was charged with three counts of burglary.
a rise in the number of burglaries committed in the area
—compare robbery , theft
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent.: from legal French burglarie , from burgler or Anglo-Latin burgulator , burglator ; related to Old French burgier pillage.