the felony of breaking into and entering the house of another at night with intent to steal, extended by statute to cover the breaking into and entering of any of various buildings, by night or day.
Origin
1150-1200;Middle English < Anglo-Frenchburglarie; see burglar, -y3
Related forms
antiburglary, adjective
Examples from the web for burglary
Ordinary crime such as house burglary and car theft is often accompanied by random violence.
He pleaded guilty to three indictments charging burglary.
As the economy slows and people lose their jobs, brawling and burglary tend to become more common.
Note that in some areas, bump keys count as burglary tools, and possession of one can be a misdemeanor offense.
They were there, after all, at the request of a citizen who was afraid a burglary was taking place.
It requires less skill than burglary or car theft, and fewer connections and less financial savvy than drug dealing.
Often such attacks on white farms are violent, and unnecessarily so for the purposes of burglary.
burglary now attracts a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for those convicted of a third offence.
If two teenagers team up to rob a grocery store, for example, both may be caught and charged with burglary.
Repeated victims of burglary often simply stop reporting them, so they don't get counted.
British Dictionary definitions for burglary
burglary
/ˈbɜːɡlərɪ/
noun (pl) -ries
1.
(English criminal law) the crime of either entering a building as a trespasser with the intention of committing theft, rape, grievous bodily harm, or damage, or, having entered as a trespasser, of committing one or more of these offences