Meaning & use
rob
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Meanings
verbtransitivelaw
To take money or goods from a person or place by force, threat, or break-in.
Grammar: The object is the victim or place, not the stolen item: rob a bank, rob a tourist.
Patterns
- rob someone
- rob someone of something
- rob a place
Two men robbed the corner store at closing time.
The tourist was robbed of his wallet near the station.
The gang robbed several banks before being caught.
verbtransitivefigurative
To deprive someone of something valuable, such as a chance, sleep, or a deserved win.
Grammar: Usually rob someone of something, in a figurative sense.
Patterns
- rob someone of something
The injury robbed her of the chance to compete.
A late goal robbed the home team of victory.
Worry robbed him of sleep for weeks.
Word forms
| third person singular | robs |
|---|---|
| past tense | robbed |
| past participle | robbed |
| -ing form | robbing |
Common combinations
- rob a bank
- The film is about friends who plan to rob a bank.
- rob someone of something
- The storm robbed the village of its power.
- get robbed
- He got robbed on the night bus.
- rob blind
- The dishonest manager robbed the company blind.
- armed robbery
- The man was charged with armed robbery.
- rob the cradle
- Teasing friends said she was robbing the cradle by dating someone so young.
Synonyms and how they differ
- steal
- Steal takes the item as its object and need not involve force or a victim in view, while rob focuses on the person or place.
- burgle
- Burgle means to enter a building to steal, usually when nobody is present, while rob often involves confronting the victim.
- mug
- Mug means attacking and robbing someone in a public place, so it is narrower than rob.
- deprive
- Deprive is formal and has no theft sense, only losing something valuable, matching the figurative use of rob.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rob or steal? rob or burgle?
rob vs steal
You rob a person or place but steal the thing taken: he robbed the shop and stole the cash.
rob vs burgle
In British English burgle describes breaking into a building, while rob needs a person or place and often a threat.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Rob takes the victim as its object, followed by of plus the item. Robbed my phone is wrong because rob does not take the stolen item directly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rob”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.