to steal someone's thunder
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: steal someone's thunder
Sense 1
To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did.
Đánh cắp sự chú ý của người khác, lấy công của người khác
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Sources & notes
Imported from Wikipedia “English-language idioms” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review.
Sense 2
to take attention away from someone
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “to steal someone's thunder” mean?
To preempt someone and rob them of gravitas or attention. To take credit for something someone else did.
Is “to steal someone's thunder” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.