mob1 nounmob2 verb
mobmob1 /mɒb $ mɑːb/ ●●○ noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINmob1
Origin:
1600-1700 Latin mobile vulgus ‘excitable crowd’, from mobilis; ➔ MOBILE1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A mob of fans caused millions of pounds worth of damage in the area surrounding the stadium.
- A mob of reporters surrounded the quarterback.
- In two recent incidents, police fired at mobs of unruly protesters.
- The mob set fire to cars and buildings.
- It was Shawn Ogg, with the rest of the mob behind him.
- My first reaction was to scan the angry opposition mob for shotguns, pistols, slingshots, and M-80s.
- No one in the mob was arrested.
- On the northwest corner of South and Catherine streets, a small mob had formed again.
- This made the local mob angry.
THESAURUSof people
several people together in the same place: · A group of boys stood by the school gate.· Arrange yourselves in groups of three.
a large group of people who have come to a place to do something: · There were crowds of shoppers in the streets.· The crowd all cheered.
a large, noisy, and perhaps violent crowd: · An angry mob of demonstrators approached.
a large group of people all close together in one place, so that they seem like a single thing: · The square in front of the station was a solid mass of people.
informal a group of people who are all similar in some way: · They’re a nice bunch of kids.
a group of young people, especially a group that often causes trouble and fights: · He was attacked by a gang of youths.
a noisy group of people who are behaving badly: · He was met by a rabble of noisy angry youths.
a very large group of people who all go somewhere: · In summer hordes of tourists flock to the island.· There were hordes of people coming out of the subway.
a group of people who all work together, especially on a ship or plane: · the ship’s crew· The flight crew will serve drinks shortly.
a group of people who are travelling or working together: · A party of tourists stood at the entrance to the temple.
a large number of people together in one place: · The exhibition is expected to attract large crowds of visitors.
a crowd of noisy and violent people who are difficult to control: · The mob set fire to cars and buildings.
a very large crowd which is not moving and which is very difficult to move through: · the mass of people in the station
a large crowd of people, especially people who are behaving in a way that you disapprove of or that annoys you: · the hordes of tourists on the island
[plural] a crowd of people – used especially when you are talking about a crowd of people who move from one place to another: · The public came in droves to see the event.
literary a very large crowd: · A great throng had gathered to listen to his speech.
a large group of people of the same type, especially when they have a leader: · A flock of children were being shown through the museum.
a group of people of the same type, especially a group you do not approve of: · A pack of reporters shouted questions.
a large crowd of people who are moving quickly in many directions in a very uncontrolled way: · a swarm of children in the playground
a crowd of people who are pressed close together: · There was such a crush on the Metro this morning.
formal literary a very large number of people, especially ordinary people: · The Emperor came out to speak to the multitude.
→ group1Longman Language Activatora large number of people together in a public place a large number of people together in one place: · I don't go to football games because I don't like big crowds.crowd of: · a crowd of angry protesterscrowds of people/visitors/tourists etc: · The exhibition is expected to attract large crowds of visitors.
a large crowd of people who are behaving in a way that you disapprove of or that annoys you: horde/hordes of: · She was chased down the steps of the courthouse by a horde of reporters and camera crews.· This time of year is perfect to visit New York because it isn't overrun with the hordes of tourists.
a crowd of noisy and violent people who are difficult to control: · The mob set fire to cars and buildings.mob of: · A mob of fans caused millions of pounds worth of damage in the area surrounding the stadium.
a very large crowd which is not moving and which is very difficult to move through: mass of: · A mass of people stood before the courthouse.seething mass (=when there are far too many people all pushing and trying to go somewhere): · The bus station was a seething mass of people.
a large crowd of people who are moving quickly in many directions in a very uncontrolled way: swarm of: · Outside the school a swarm of small children ran around shouting and laughing.
a very large crowd: · The throng greeted Sutter with cheers and applause.throng of: · a throng of reporters· Animals and carts moved along the dusty road with the throng of refugees.
a crowd of people who are all pressed close together so that it is very difficult to move between them: · Unable to get out of the crush, Chris began to panic.· A number of people fainted in the crush.· There was chaos as people tried to escape the flames and two children were badly injured in the crush.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
The leadership had been criticized for giving in to mob rule (=when a mob controls the situation rather than the government or the law).
The leadership had been criticized for giving in to mob rule (=when a mob controls the situation rather than the government or the law). British English (=group of strong violent men) What happens if they send the heavy mob round to find him?
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE What happens if they send the heavy mob round to find him?· An angry mob creates confusion and prevents the smooth running of its hunting sequence.· My first reaction was to scan the angry opposition mob for shotguns, pistols, slingshots, and M-80s.
· He would come back and find the heavy mob were selling Tombstone as holiday homes.· The regulars and the heavy mob from Fleet Street arrived and we just managed to catch the last train to Cambridge.
· Subsequently, a white mob formed, and fighting broke out.· The National Guard had been removed, and a white mob had gathered at the school to enforce vigilante justice.· Dozens of white mobs prowled the streets.· When the word spread of another crime against white womanhood, a white mob gathered outside the jail.
NOUN· He needed only a mob cap and frilly apron to complete the image.
· She had a picture of a Southern lynch mob, a whole group of white men and women.· The eyes of the lynch mob were uncomprehendingly evil.· The lynch mob is gathering outside the Last Chance Saloon.· The crowd was on the point of becoming a lynch mob, but were still linked in a human chain.· Some lynch mob of cuckolded husbands exacting a medieval revenge?· At worse they were a lynch mob.
· Unless the growing spirit of the movement could be harnessed coherently, mob rule would replace Unionist minority rule.· Now Bork proposes that mob rule be substituted for the authority of the nine justices.
· The Monis government had been guilty of foolish panic, the Marne growers of mob violence.· Tyranny, terror, and mob violence were used to coerce antislavery activists.· After Frankfurt, the cities worst affected by mob violence are Hamburg, Berlin and Munich.· We've got the miners rattling sabres again and there's been mob violence outside that new printing works in Sheffield.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► the mob► mob of sheep/cattle
1a large noisy crowd, especially one that is angry and violentmob of- As if He'd have any time for us with the mob of Holy Joes He's got to see to.
- Finding the prisoners gone, the mob began to search for an object on which to vent its anger.
- Many of them were, with reason, frightened of the Shahs desperate attempt to find scapegoats to appease the mobs.
- The Headmaster was having difficulty in controlling the mob.
- Their car had hardly turned the corner when the mob arrived and smashed the house to pieces.
- They were part of the mob who begged for candy and advertised their sisters to the GIs.
- With added momentum, the mob turned its vengeance on the black populace.
- Wuhan was in an uproar when they arrived, its streets nearly impossible because of the mobs.
a mob of a few hundred demonstrators They were immediately surrounded by the mob. The leadership had been criticized for giving in to mob rule (=when a mob controls the situation rather than the government or the law).► see thesaurus at group2informal a group of people of the same type SYN gangmob of The usual mob of teenagers were standing on the corner.the heavy mob British English (=group of strong violent men) What happens if they send the heavy mob round to find him?3the Mob the mafia (=a powerful organization of criminals)4the mob old use an insulting expression meaning all the poorest and least educated people in society5mob of sheep/cattle Australian English a large group of sheep or cattlemob1 nounmob2 verb
mobmob2 verb (past tense and past participle mobbed, present participle mobbing) [transitive] 1if people mob a famous person, they rush to get close to them and form a crowd around them: Fans ran onto the pitch and mobbed the batsman.2if a group of birds or animals mob another bird or animal, they all attack it