Kife means: Slang for to steal - to take something that doesn't belong to you. A relatively obscure term in this sense, appearing in various regional slang dictionaries without a clear regional home. The word. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. It has drug-related associations; worth a calm conversation about which side of the topic your teen is on. As a place or proper-name reference it is purely descriptive.
kife
Slang for to steal — to take something that doesn't belong to you.
Definitions
#1·Apr 28, 2026
Slang for to steal — to take something that doesn't belong to you. A relatively obscure term in this sense, appearing in various regional slang dictionaries without a clear regional home. The word has a furtive, petty quality fitting its meaning: not grand theft, but quietly pocketing something. Similar in register to 'nick' or 'pinch' in British slang.
Someone had kifed the office stapler again and nobody would admit to it.
Origin: Origin uncertain; possibly related to 'knife' (to cut away, take) or a dialectal variant. Etymology not confidently traceable. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
For parents
Kife means: Slang for to steal - to take something that doesn't belong to you. A relatively obscure term in this sense, appearing in various regional slang dictionaries without a clear regional home. The word. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. It has drug-related associations; worth a calm conversation about which side of the topic your teen is on. As a place or proper-name reference it is purely descriptive.
For ESL learners
kife means: Slang for to steal - to take something that doesn't belong to you. A relatively obscure term in this sense, appearing in various regional slang dictionaries without a clear. Register: very informal, often derogatory or vulgar. Avoid in formal, business, academic, or polite writing. Even in casual speech the word can offend and is best left out of a learner's active vocabulary. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Cluster: steal
Was this helpful?
Comments
#2·Apr 27, 2026
(slang) To steal.
Cluster: theft
Was this helpful?
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "kife".
🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "kife" (K)
Browse all slang words starting with K.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- niffle70%
A UK dialect word with two distinct regional senses: to pilfer or steal small items (general dialectal), and to squirm or fidget (East Anglia). Both senses are highly localized and no longer in common use. The stealing sense fits into a broader dialectal tradition of soft-sounding words for petty theft, where the word's gentle sound almost accidentally lightens the moral weight of what it describes.
- niffle67%
(UK, dialect) To pilfer.
- snitch66%
(slang, dated, transitive) To steal, quickly and quietly.
- nicked64%
(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) Stolen.