pilferage
noun/ˈpɪlf(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/
Etymology From pilfer + -age.
1
The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft.
- Sir Thomas Royden, Chairman of the L.M.S.R., and Mr. Robert Holland-Martin, Chairman of the Southern Railway, both deplored the wholesale robbery and petty pilferage which have increased until they have reached appalling dimensions.1942 May-June, “Theft on the Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 130:
- Still, there is pilferage, mysterious discrepancies eating into the percentages.1981, John Updike, Rabbit is Rich: