robrob /rɒb $ rɑːb/ ●●○ S3 verb (past tense and past participle robbed, present participle robbing) [transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
They killed four policemen while robbing a bank. A 77-year-old woman was robbed at knifepoint.rob somebody of something They threatened to shoot him and robbed him of all his possessions. ► You say that someone robs a person or place. Do not say that someone robs an object or an amount of money. Use steal: He stole cash and valuables worth $500,000.► see thesaurus at steal2rob Peter to pay Paul to take money away from someone or something that needs it in order to pay someone else or use it for something else: Taking money out of the hospital’s budget for this is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul.3rob somebody blind informal to steal everything someone has: The minute your back’s turned, they’ll rob you blind.4I/we was robbed! British English spoken used when you think that you were beaten unfairly in a sport5rob the cradle American English to have a sexual relationship with someone who is a lot younger than you – used humorously SYN cradle-snatch British Englishrob somebody/something of something phrasal verb literary to take away an important quality, ability etc from someone or something: The illness robbed him of a normal childhood.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINrob
Verb TableOrigin:
1200-1300 Old French roberVERB TABLE
rob
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | rob |
| he, she, it | robs | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | robbed |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have robbed |
| he, she, it | has robbed | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had robbed |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will rob |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have robbed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am robbing |
| he, she, it | is robbing | |
| you, we, they | are robbing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was robbing |
| you, we, they | were robbing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been robbing |
| he, she, it | has been robbing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been robbing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be robbing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been robbing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- He got five years in jail for robbing a gas station.
- Police are looking for a man who robbed a gas station on Van Ness Avenue.
- The woman had been robbed and was badly shaken.
- Two men robbed the Central Bank yesterday, escaping with over $1 million.
- Two men tried to rob him as he left the restaurant.
- In addition, the migration from rural areas to the cities has robbed the region of many of its truffle gatherers.
- The thieves contributed to rob me of my ally, silencing him twice over.
- Their insecurities too often robbed the managers of invaluable support, just when they needed it most.
- They rob die-hard travelers of a work or vacation day.
- They weight us down, they rob us, they starve us.
THESAURUS► steal
Collocations to illegally take something that belongs to someone else: · The thieves stole over £10,000 worth of computer equipment.· Thousands of cars get stolen every year.
► take to steal something – used when it is clear from the situation that you mean that someone takes something dishonestly: · The boys broke into her house and took all her money.· They didn’t take much – just a few items of jewellery.
► burgle British English, burglarize American English [usually passive] to go into someone’s home and steal things, especially when the owners are not there: · Their house was burgled while they were away.· If you leave windows open, you are asking to be burgled.
► rob to steal money or other things from a bank, shop, or person: · The gang were convicted of robbing a bank in Essex.· An elderly woman was robbed at gunpoint in her own home.· He’s serving a sentence for robbing a grocery store.
► mug to attack someone in the street and steal something from them: · People in this area are frightened of being mugged when they go out.· Someone tried to mug me outside the station.
► nick/pinch British English informal to steal something: · Someone’s nicked my wallet!· When I came back, my car had been pinched.
► embezzle to steal money from the organization you work for, especially money that you are responsible for: · Government officials embezzled more than $2.5 million from the department.
► shoplifting stealing things from a shop by taking them when you think no one is looking: · Shoplifting costs stores millions of pounds every year.
► phishing the activity of dishonestly persuading people to give you their credit card details over the Internet, so that you can steal money from their bank account: · Phishing is becoming very popular with computer criminals.
Longman Language Activatorto steal from someone in the street► rob to steal money or possessions from someone, especially using threats or violence and in a public place such as a street: · Two men tried to rob him as he left the restaurant.· The woman had been robbed and was badly shaken.
► mug to violently attack someone in the street and rob them: · She decided to move from the city after she was mugged for the third time in less than a year.
► snatch to steal someone's bag from them in the street and then run away: · A young boy pushed her over and snatched her purse as she fell.
to steal from a house, shop, or bank► rob to steal money or property from a bank, shop etc, especially by using threats or violence: · He got five years in jail for robbing a gas station.· Two men robbed the Central Bank yesterday, escaping with over $1 million.
► burgle British /burglarize American to illegally enter a house or office and steal things: · He was caught burgling the house of a police officer.· Our apartment has been burglarized twice since we moved here.
► shoplift to steal things from a shop, for example by hiding them under your clothes or in a bag: · The clerk spotted the girl shoplifting and stopped her from leaving the store.
► hold up to go into a bank, shop etc with a gun and demand money: · The men who held up the store were wearing Halloween masks.· He was arrested and charged with holding up a cab driver.
► loot to steal things from shops or other buildings, especially during a war or at a time when the police or army have lost control of an area: · His store was broken into and looted during the riot.· As the army advanced toward Mantes it burned and looted everything that lay in its path.
WORD SETS► Crimeabet, verbaccusation, nounaccuse, verbaffray, nounarson, nounassault, nounassault and battery, nounbackhander, nounbattery, nounbigamy, nounblack market, nounblack marketeer, nounbreak-in, nounbreaking and entering, nouncaper, nouncapital, adjectivecarjacking, nouncat burglar, nouncontract, nouncosh, nouncounterfeit, adjectivecounterfeit, verbcover, nouncrack, verbcriminal, adjectivecriminal, nouncriminal law, nouncriminal record, nouncriminology, nouncrook, nounculpable, adjectiveculprit, noundefamation, noundefraud, verbdelinquency, noundelinquent, adjectivedelinquent, noundesperado, noundisorderly, adjectivedrug baron, noundrug runner, nounDUI, nounembezzle, verbexpropriate, verbextort, verbeyewitness, nounfelon, nounfelony, nounfence, nounfiddle, nounfiddle, verbfiddler, nounfilch, verbfinger, verbfire-raising, nounfirst offender, nounflash, verbflasher, nounforge, verbforger, nounforgery, nounfoul play, nounframe, verbframe-up, nounfratricide, nounfraud, nounfreebooter, noungang, noungang-bang, noungang rape, noungangster, nounGBH, noungenocide, noungetaway, noungodfather, noungrand larceny, noungrass, noungrievous bodily harm, nounheist, nounhijack, verbhijack, nounhijacking, nounhit, nounhit-and-run, adjectivehit man, nounincriminate, verbindecent assault, nounindecent exposure, nouninfanticide, nounjob, nounjoyriding, nounjuvenile delinquent, nounkidnap, verblarceny, nounlibel, nounlibel, verblibellous, adjectivelow life, nounmafioso, nounmalpractice, nounmanslaughter, nounmassacre, nounmassacre, verbmatricide, nounmisappropriate, verbmisconduct, nounmisdeed, nounmisdemeanour, nounmobster, nounmoll, nounmug, verbmugshot, nounmurder, nounmurder, verbmurderer, nounmurderess, nounmuscleman, nounnark, nounnefarious, adjectiveneighbourhood watch, nounnick, verbno-go area, nounoffence, nounoffend, verboffender, nounold lag, nounorganized crime, nounoutlaw, nounparricide, nounpatricide, nounpetty larceny, nounPhotofit, nounpiracy, nounplant, verbpoach, verbpoacher, nounpossession, nounprivateer, nounprotection, nounprowl, verbprowler, nounpublic nuisance, nounpull, verbpunk, nounpurloin, verbraid, nounram-raiding, nounrape, verbrape, nounrapist, nounravish, verbreceiver, nounreceiving, nounrecidivist, nounregicide, nounring, nounringleader, nounriotous, adjectiverob, verbrobber, nounrobbery, nounroll, verbrustler, nounscheme, nounscheme, verbshady, adjectiveshoplift, verbshoplifting, nounslander, nounsmuggle, verbsnout, nounspeeding, nounstabbing, nounstalking, nounstatutory offence, nounstatutory rape, nounsteal, verbstoolpigeon, nounsupergrass, nounsuspect, nounswag, nountheft, nounthief, nounthievish, adjectivetorch, verbtraffic, nountrafficker, nountriad, noununder-the-counter, adjectiveunderworld, nounundesirable, nounvagrancy, nounvandal, nounvandalism, nounvandalize, verbvice, nounvigilante, nounvillainy, nounviolate, verbviolation, nounwanted, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► bank
Phrases· Suspended sentence ... granny who tried to rob bank escapes going to prison.· I robbed that bank and thought people would be mad at me.· He tried, with three other men, to rob a bank.· Like when I robbed the bank.· If you've written a fun game and want to make your fortune, sling the tape and rob a bank!· So Guthrie went to Cincinnati to rob a bank on his own.· Yet they would no more have dreamt of complaining than of robbing a bank.· Also 38, he denies robbing any banks and says he is being persecuted for his beliefs.
► house· Quite affluent, the newcomers entertained, although Mr Thompson managed to get away at nights, robbing houses across London.· And he robbed Madge's house and smashed it up.
► man· He tried, with three other men, to rob a bank.· Later that evening, two men plotted to rob the parson.· Certainly the old man will have said he saw a man robbing them.
VERB► attack· In the last two months 20 buses have been damaged by missiles, drivers have been attacked and robbed.
► attempt· He faces a second charge of attempting to rob assistant Elizabeth Walsh at the nearby Grotto card shop on the same day.· Lee said it is unknown if the gunman attempted to rob the couple before he started shooting.· Why did Bob persist in attempting to rob the cradle?
► try· Suspended sentence ... granny who tried to rob bank escapes going to prison.· I knew that if I tried to rob some one and got caught, I'd go to jail.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► rob Peter to pay Paul► rob somebody blind► I/we was robbed!► rob the cradle
1to steal money or property from a person, bank etc → steal, burgle: - For example, one contributor argued that mainstream funding for Whiterock College was a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
- Why did Bob persist in attempting to rob the cradle?
They killed four policemen while robbing a bank. A 77-year-old woman was robbed at knifepoint.rob somebody of something They threatened to shoot him and robbed him of all his possessions. ► You say that someone robs a person or place. Do not say that someone robs an object or an amount of money. Use steal: He stole cash and valuables worth $500,000.► see thesaurus at steal2rob Peter to pay Paul to take money away from someone or something that needs it in order to pay someone else or use it for something else: Taking money out of the hospital’s budget for this is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul.3rob somebody blind informal to steal everything someone has: The minute your back’s turned, they’ll rob you blind.4I/we was robbed! British English spoken used when you think that you were beaten unfairly in a sport5rob the cradle American English to have a sexual relationship with someone who is a lot younger than you – used humorously SYN cradle-snatch British Englishrob somebody/something of something phrasal verb literary to take away an important quality, ability etc from someone or something: The illness robbed him of a normal childhood.