rob

¹

[rob]

verb (used with object)

robbed, robbing 

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, robbing 

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

Other Word Forms

• unrobbed adjective
• robber noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rob¹

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

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.

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.

Example Sentences

Elissa said Ivan, who is now aged five, had been "completely robbed of his toddler years" due to health issues resulting from constipation.

From BBC

Trying to rob his employer one night with a mop dipped in toxic muck, Winston is shot and thrown into said slop.

From Los Angeles Times

A couple who found the body of their baby daughter lying on the sofa at a funeral director's home say their child was "robbed of her dignity".

From BBC

She says she feels "bullied over a crime that robbed me of my childhood".

From BBC

Not only did Patterson rob him of growing old with his wife, and his children of their mother, Mr Wilkinson said, but she also took his two best friends, Don and Gail Patterson.

From BBC

Related Words

• bereave 
• break into 
• cheat 
• defraud 
• divest 
• hijack 
• loot 
• lose 
• mug 
• plunder 
• raid 
• ransack 
• strip 

When To Use

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.