# Definitions of:?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 2, 2000, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822 "2000-08-02T07:51:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/1 "2000-08-02T07:51:52Z")
Our newspaper publishes each week the number of
1. thefts
2. robberies
3. burglaries
What is the difference between theft and robbery? Must one or more persons be intimidated or threatened to be robbed? Dictionary definition is confusing. If a family comes home and sees its home ransacked with items missing, was the home robbed or just burglarized? Yes, I advanced past the 4th grade…just curious.
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### Author:  [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/2 "2000-08-02T08:16:44Z")
i’m pretty sure that robbery is simply theft- breaking into someone’s home and stealing their personables. whereas burglary is breaking into an occupied home and using force or threat of a force to keep the inhabitants docile. so a burglary can start ut as theft until the french-canadian M. DuPlessis is awaken, at which point clown-masked burglars terrorize him and tie him up in the kitchen, all under the pretense that the burglars will hurt him (which they very well might have). of course, as this case turned out, the crime was murder 2, so maybe i have spoken too soon.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/3 "2000-08-02T08:57:06Z")
**theft** , obviously, means stealing.
**burglary** : entering a building unlawfully, usually with the intent of commiting theft.
**robbery** : theft involving violence or the threat of violence.
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### Author:  [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/4 "2000-08-02T09:12:19Z")
ahh, **that’s** what i was thinking of!
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### Author:  [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/5 "2000-08-02T09:43:02Z")
To expand on burglary. If committed against a business, the entry must be after normal business hours. The intent isn’t limited to theft as an offense.
A burglary can occur if the offender remains in the building without consent of the owner after closing hours. There doesn’t have to be the actual act of breaking and entering.
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/6 "2000-08-02T15:58:46Z")
**Robbery** is a theft using force or the threat of force. It’s **armed robbery** if a weapon was involved. **Theft** is usually divided into different categories based on what was stolen, eg **grand larceny, petty larceny, grand theft auto.**
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### Author:  [@honkytonkwillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/honkytonkwillie)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2000, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitions-of/27822/7 "2000-08-03T08:09:21Z")
Theft and robbery have been covered pretty well. Burglary is a wee bit more complex.
To be a burglary in my state, two elements must be met. A) breaking and entering, B) with the intention of committing a crime within.
Some variation is bound to exist between in different jurisdictions, regarding what constitutes “breaking and entering”.
Mrs. Tonk makes a living dealing with this stuff.