Steal Vs. Steel Vs. Still (Grammar Rules) - Writer's Digest

1. Home
2. /
3. Write Better Nonfiction
4. /
5. Grammar

Write Better NonfictionSteal vs. Steel vs. Still (Grammar Rules)

Learn when to use steal vs. steel vs. still on with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a few examples of correct usages.

Robert Lee Brewer

Published Nov 23, 2020 9:00 PM ESTShare this story

This week, let's look at the differences of steal, steel, and still. All three words are versatile and sound similar, but they have very different meanings.

(Grammar rules for writers.)

So let's steal away for a moment and consider the differences of steal, steel, and still.

Steal vs. Steel vs. Still

Steal can be used as a verb or noun. As a verb, steal has two main meanings: to take without permission and/or illegally; or to arrive or leave secretly. Steal can also be used as a noun to define an act of stealing--or to refer to a bargain (as in "this deal is a steal").

Steel can be used as an adjective and verb, but it's probably best known as a noun to refer to commercial iron with specific characteristics and/or a sword or other implement that is made with steel. Steel is generally considered a strong metal, so both the verb and adjective meanings of the word play of this idea of strength and resiliency.

(9 tips for writers from S.E. Hinton.)

Still has the most flexibility of these three words, because it can be used as a noun, adverb, adjective, and verb. As a noun, still can mean quiet, silence, and/or lack of motion, but it can also refer to a distillery or contraption to perform distillation. As an adjective, still describes things or people that lack motion and/or sound. The most common way to use still as a verb is to quiet or settle something or someone (even if that someone is yourself). As an adverb, still means without motion (as in "stand still"); used to indicate the continuance of something (as in "he still sings on Sundays"); or in spite of something (as in "those who try hardest still fail sometimes").

Make sense?

Here are a few examples:

Correct: She held the wallet and knew it was wrong to steal its contents.Incorrect: She held the wallet and knew it was wrong to steel its contents.Incorrect: She held the wallet and knew it was wrong to still its contents.

Correct: The blade of his knife was made with American steel.Incorrect: The blade of his knife was made with American steal.Incorrect: The blade of his knife was made with American still.

Correct: The teacher told her students to settle down and sit still.Incorrect: The teacher told her students to settle down and sit steal.Incorrect: The teacher told her students to settle down and sit steel.

Steel is a metal, steal means to take something, and still means to be quiet and/or motionless. So steel can be still, but it's not advisable to steal someone's still steel.

*****

No matter what type of writing you do, mastering the fundamentals of grammar and mechanics is an important first step to having a successful writing career.

Click to continue.

Share this storyGrammar RulesRobert Lee BrewerAuthor Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of Solving the World's Problems, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.Related StoriesShort Story2026 February Flash Fiction Challenge: GuidelinesMoriah RichardLiteraryFarah Naz Rishi: On the Strange and Faintly Absurd Shape of GriefRobert Lee BrewerScience Fiction/FantasyStacia Stark: On the Brutal World of GladiatorsRobert Lee BrewerCharacter5 Things Writers Should Know About NarcissismAlina KastnerMystery/ThrillerJennie Godfrey: Write From the HeartRobert Lee BrewerChildren'sJacquelyn Stolos: Be Yourself on the PageRobert Lee BrewerRelated StoriesShort Story2026 February Flash Fiction Challenge: GuidelinesMoriah RichardLiteraryFarah Naz Rishi: On the Strange and Faintly Absurd Shape of GriefRobert Lee BrewerScience Fiction/FantasyStacia Stark: On the Brutal World of GladiatorsRobert Lee BrewerCharacter5 Things Writers Should Know About NarcissismAlina KastnerMystery/ThrillerJennie Godfrey: Write From the HeartRobert Lee BrewerChildren'sJacquelyn Stolos: Be Yourself on the PageRobert Lee Brewer

© 2025 Active Interest Media All rights reserved.

About UsTerms of ServicePrivacy PolicyActive Interest MediaScriptMag.comDigital Editions2nd Draft CritiquesWebinarsTutorialsWD UniversityWriter's Digest ShopNovel Writing ConferenceWriter's Digest Annual ConferenceCompetitionsGive a Gift SubscriptionMedia KitBack IssuesCurrent IssueCustomer ServiceRenew a subscriptionSubscribeAdvertise With UsWrite For UsMeet UsSite MapAI PolicyCode of ConductMore AIM Sites [+]Antique TraderArts & Crafts HomesBank Note ReporterCabin LifeCuisine at HomeFine GardeningFine HomebuildingFine WoodworkingGreen Building AdvisorGarden GateKeep Craft AliveLog Home LivingMilitary Trader/VehiclesNumismatic News/VehiclesNumismasterOld Cars WeeklyOld House JournalPeriod HomesPopular WoodworkingScriptShopNotesSports Collectors DigestThreadsTimber Home LivingTraditional BuildingWoodsmithWoodshop NewsWorld Coin NewsWriter's Digest;