mob

¹

[mob]

noun

1. a disorderly or riotous crowd of people.

2. a crowd bent on or engaged in lawless violence.

3. any group or collection of persons or things.

4. the common people; the masses; populace or multitude.

5. a criminal gang, especially one involved in drug trafficking, extortion, etc.

6. the Mob, Mafia.

7. Sociology.,  a group of persons stimulating one another to excitement and losing ordinary rational control over their activity.

8. a flock, herd, or drove of animals.

   a mob of sheep.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a lawless, irrational, disorderly, or riotous crowd: mob instincts.

   mob rule;

   mob instincts.

2. directed at or reflecting the lowest intellectual level of the common people: the mob mentality.

   mob appeal;

   the mob mentality.

verb (used with object)

mobbed, mobbing 

1. to crowd around noisily, as from curiosity or hostility.

   Spectators mobbed the courtroom.

2. to attack in a riotous mob.

   The crowd mobbed the consulate.

3. Fox Hunting.,  to chop (a fox).

mob

²

[mob, mohb]

noun

Digital Technology.

1. (in a video game) a hostile nonplayer character that the player may target and fight.

MOB

³

1. mother of the bride.

mob

¹

/ mɒb /

noun

1. 1. a riotous or disorderly crowd of people; rabble

   2. ( as modifier )

      mob law

      mob violence

2. derogatory,  a group or class of people, animals, or things

3. a flock (of sheep) or a herd (of cattle, esp when droving)

4. derogatory,  the masses

5. slang,  a gang of criminals

verb

1. to attack in a group resembling a mob

2. to surround, esp in order to acclaim

   they mobbed the film star

3. to crowd into (a building, plaza, etc)

4. (of a group of animals of a prey species) to harass (a predator)

MOB

²

abbreviation

1. mobile phone

Other Word Forms

• mobber noun
• mobbist noun
• mobbish adjective
• mobbishly adverb
• mobbishness noun
• mobbism noun
• unmobbed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mob¹

First recorded in 1680–90; short for Latin mōbile vulgus “the movable (i.e., changeable, inconstant) common people”

Origin of mob²

First recorded in 1980–85; coined by British video game developer Richard Bartle; shortening of mobile (in the sense “a moving sculpture hung from the ceiling”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of mob¹

C17: shortened from Latin mōbile vulgus the fickle populace; see _mobile

Example Sentences

If this were a mob movie, all sorts of nefarious thoughts would come to mind.

From Salon

A woman has been burnt to death by a mob in northern Nigeria's Niger state after she was accused of blaspheming against Prophet Muhammad, police have said.

From BBC

In 1892, for example, the Memphis office of Black journalist Ida B. Wells was destroyed by a mob whose members threatened to kill her after she wrote an article condemning the lynching of three Black men who owned a successful grocery store.

From Salon

She said she was pleased about the latest court decision as "for the people in the hotel it gives them consistency, but it's made me very nervous because I think there will be trouble... but I'm really pleased mob rule hasn't been allowed to take over".

From BBC

The prize came courtesy of the band Fuerza Regida and Street Mob Records.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clan 
• crowd 
• flock 
• gang 
• horde 
• mass 
• riot 
• swarm 
• throng 
• troop 

When To Use

What does mob mean?

A mob is an unruly and often violent group of people, especially one engaged in a riot or other lawless violence.Some mobs organize intentionally to engage in violence and destruction, but sometimes people assemble spontaneously and turn into a mob, such as in reaction to some event. Because people who have massed together in such a way typically don’t follow any formal leadership or string of command, mobs are known for getting out of control and engaging in chaotic, unpredictable, and often violent behavior.Sometimes, the word refers to a large group of people acting in an aggressive or hostile way in a virtual space, as in Don’t post that unless you want to feel the wrath of the social media mob. This sense of mob is often used as a modifier (adjective) to describe things carried out by mobs or involving mobs, as in mob violence and mob rule.Like the word riot, the word mob is sometimes intentionally used inaccurately to portray groups in a negative way when this characterization is not warranted. For example, an opponent of a protest might call a group of peaceful protesters a mob as an attempt to discredit the protesters and their message.The word mob can also be used as a verb meaning to assemble in large numbers or crowd around someone or something, especially in an unruly way, as in Holiday shoppers mobbed the store as soon as it opened or The star is mobbed by photographers every time she leaves her house. A place or person who has been crowded in this way can be described with the adjective mobbed.As a verb, mob can also mean to attack as a mob, as in Wave after wave of rebels mobbed the embassy. Mob is sometimes used as a noun in a more figurative way to collectively refer to common people or the masses, in which case it is typically preceded by the, as in His campaign platform is too subtle to win over the mob. This sense of the word often implies that the common people lack sophistication, intelligence, or are otherwise base and crude. This is what’s implied in the phrase mob mentality, which refers to a mindset motivated by the basest human instincts.Much more specifically, organized crime groups known as the Mafia are sometimes also referred to as the Mob. A member of the Mob can be called a mobster.Example: Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of a mob is that the group and the people in it have passed the point of being able to be reasoned with.