Steal half this short distance (4)
I believe the answer is:
inch
'short distance' is the definition.
(inch is a unit of length)
'steal half' is the wordplay.
'steal' becomes 'half inch' (I've seen this before).
'half' suggests halving the letters.
'halfinch' with half the letters taken is 'INCH'.
'this' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for inch that I've seen before include "Small Scottish island" , "Two point five four cm" , "Move by small amounts" , "One point 63380 th of a mile" , "nose" .)