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View synonyms for rob

rob

1

[ rob ]

verb (used with object)

, robbed, rob·bing.
  1. to take something from (someone) by unlawful force or threat of violence; steal from.
  2. to deprive (someone) of some right or something legally due:

    They robbed her of her inheritance.

    Synonyms: cheat, defraud

  3. to plunder or rifle (a house, shop, etc.).
  4. to deprive of something unjustly or injuriously:

    The team was robbed of a home run hitter when the umpire called it a foul ball. The shock robbed him of his speech.

  5. Mining. to remove ore or coal from (a pillar).


verb (used without object)

, robbed, rob·bing.
  1. to commit or practice robbery.

Rob

2

[ rob ]

noun

  1. a male given name, form of Robert.

rob

/ rɒb /

verb

  1. tr to take something from (someone) illegally, as by force or threat of violence
  2. to plunder (a house, shop, etc)
  3. tr to deprive unjustly

    to be robbed of an opportunity

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈrobber, noun
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Other Words From

  • un·robbed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rob1

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English robben, from Old French robber, from Germanic; compare Old High German roubōn. See reave 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of rob1

C13: from Old French rober , of Germanic origin; compare Old High German roubōn to rob
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. rob Peter to pay Paul, to take something from one person or thing to pay one's debt or hypothetical debt to another, as to sacrifice one's health by overworking.
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Synonym Study

Rob, rifle, sack refer to seizing possessions that belong to others. Rob is the general word for taking possessions by unlawful force or violence: to rob a bank, a house, a train. A term with a more restricted meaning is rifle, to make a thorough search for what is valuable or worthwhile, usually within a small space: to rifle a safe. On the other hand, sack is a term for robbery on a huge scale during war; it suggests destruction accompanying pillage, and often includes the indiscriminate massacre of civilians: to sack a town or district.
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Example Sentences

A mother whose autistic son has spent 10 months in hospital has said he is being locked away and robbed of a future.

From BBC

“But that was robbed from me, so here we are.”

As a teenager, I watched my mother, a talented phlebotomist, be robbed of promotions at Johns Hopkins Hospital where she worked for 20 years.

From Salon

We women have been robbed of what could have been a momentous campaign and a historic victory.

From Salon

Following the publication of Pratt's article, he was called out online for his "Friday Night Lights" approach to an election that threatens to rob many non-millionaires of their rights and freedoms.

From Salon

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More About Rob

What does rob mean?

To rob is to steal, especially by force or through threats of violence.

A person who robs is called a robber, and the act of robbing is called robbery.

A robber can rob a person or a place, such as a house or business. The act of robbing a person on the street is often called mugging. The act of robbing a bank is called bank robbery and a person who does it is called a bank robber. Armed robbery involves robbing a person or place while armed with a weapon.

Rob and steal are often used interchangeably in terms of their general meaning, but their use within a sentence often differs. The word rob often focuses on the victim of the theft (whether it’s a person or a place), whereas steal often focuses on what has been stolen. So you can rob a bank, a person, or a house, whereas you steal money, diamonds, or cars. A bank robber doesn’t steal banks (unless they’re Carmen Sandiego, maybe)—they steal money from banks.

However, the word rob is sometimes followed by the word of and the thing that’s been taken, as in She robbed me of thousands of dollars! 

The word rob can also be used in a kind of figurative way meaning to unfairly deprive someone of something, especially something abstract or intangible. If someone prevents you from doing something, you can say they robbed you of the chance to do it. Death is said to rob us of our loved ones. If someone loses a competition not because they were fairly defeated but because of some technicality, they might say “I was robbed!”

Unrelatedly, the name Rob is short for Robert.

Example: The suspect is accused of robbing seven banks during a three-month period.

Where does rob come from?

The first records of the verb rob come from around 1200. It comes from the Middle English robben, meaning “to rob.”

The word rob is used in several idioms, some of which use it in a literal sense and some of which use it in a figurative sense. To rob the till is to steal from one’s employer, such as by taking money from the cash register (a till is a money drawer). To rob someone blind is to steal a lot of money or other things from them or to thoroughly cheat them out of something through deception. To rob Peter to pay Paul is to take money or resources that are intended for one thing and apply them to another. An example is getting a loan from one person in order to pay a debt to another person, or taking resources from one department in a company to benefit another.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to rob?

What are some synonyms for rob?

What are some words that share a root or word element with rob

What are some words that often get used in discussing rob?

 

 

How is rob used in real life?

Both the literal and figurative senses of rob are commonly used.

Try using rob!

Is rob used correctly in the following sentence?

“This disease has robbed me of my sight, but not my dignity.”

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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