Steal is a verb meaning to take something that isn't yours: "someone tried to steal my bike." Steel is the metal — "a steel girder" — and also a verb meaning to brace yourself: "she steeled herself for the news." The two are pronounced the same, so the spelling has to carry the meaning.
The core difference
Steal is an action of taking. Steel is, first and foremost, a substance. Both can act as verbs, which is where the trouble starts, but their meanings never overlap.
Using steal
Steal, stole, stolen. It covers literal theft and a family of figurative uses.
- He was caught trying to steal a laptop from the office.
- Don't let her steal the credit for your work.
- The child stole the show at the wedding.
- I stole a glance at my watch.
- The runner stole second base.
It also works as a noun in informal use, meaning a bargain: "at forty pounds it was a steal."
Using steel
As a noun, steel is the alloy of iron and carbon, and it appears everywhere as a modifier: steel toecaps, stainless steel, a steel band, the steel industry.
As a verb, to steel oneself means to harden yourself against something unpleasant — the metaphor is clear enough to remember:
- He steeled himself and opened the letter.
- She had steeled herself for a fight and got an apology instead.
Note that this verb is nearly always reflexive: you steel yourself, himself, themselves. If there is no reflexive pronoun after it, you probably want steal.
The test
Ask whether the word refers to something you could physically touch or knock on. If yes, it is steel — the metal. If the sentence is about taking, grabbing or acquiring, it is steal. And for the reflexive verb, check for the pronoun: "steeled herself" is the only common shape it takes.
The memory trick
Steel is made of iron, and both words contain a double e. Alternatively: a thief has to deal with the police, and deal rhymes and shares its spelling pattern with steal.
The edge cases
A steel is also a specific tool — the rod a chef uses to hone a knife, sometimes called a sharpening steel. And "nerves of steel" describes composure, while "a steely look" means cold and unyielding.
On the other side, watch for stole: it is the past tense of steal, but it is also a noun meaning a shawl or a clergyman's vestment. Context always sorts it out, but the pair "she stole the stole" is grammatical.
Frequently asked questions
Is it 'steal yourself' or 'steel yourself'?
Steel yourself. The image is of hardening like metal in preparation for something difficult, so it takes the double e. 'Steal yourself' would mean taking yourself without permission.
What is the past tense of steal?
Stole in the simple past, stolen with an auxiliary: 'he stole the money' but 'the money had been stolen'. Steal is irregular, so 'stealed' is never correct.