mob

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /mɑb/ UK /mɒb/ See IPA manual

Freq #4591

Meanings

1

noun
A large, disorderly crowd of people, often angry or violent.

An angry mob gathered outside the courthouse.
2

noun
An organized criminal group; the mafia.

He was rumoured to have ties to the mob.
3

verb
To crowd around someone in large numbers, often aggressively.

Fans mobbed the singer as she left the theatre.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · an organized criminal... mafia

Word family

Forms mobbedmobbingmobbishmobs

Derived forms antimobcybermobflashmobmob-handedmob-handedlymob-handednessmobbermobbishmobbismmobbistmoblemoblike

Etymology

Clipping of mobile. The video-gaming sense is sometimes reported as an abbreviation of man or beast or of mobile object, but these are backronyms.

Topics

People & Society

External links

# mob

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /mɑb/
**IPA (UK):** /mɒb/
**Frequency rank:** 4591

## Meanings
1. A large, disorderly crowd of people, often angry or violent.
2. An organized criminal group; the mafia.
3. To crowd around someone in large numbers, often aggressively.

## Examples
- An angry mob gathered outside the courthouse.
- He was rumoured to have ties to the mob.
- Fans mobbed the singer as she left the theatre.

## Derived Forms
- antimob
- cybermob
- flashmob
- mob-handed
- mob-handedly
- mob-handedness
- mobber
- mobbish
- mobbism
- mobbist
- moble
- moblike

## Etymology
Clipping of mobile. The video-gaming sense is sometimes reported as an abbreviation of man or beast or of mobile object, but these are backronyms.

## AI Etymology
Mob is clipping of mobile. The video-gaming sense is sometimes reported as an abbreviation of man or beast or of mobile object, but these are backronyms. The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as antimob, cybermob, flashmob, and mob-handed. In present use it covers a large, disorderly crowd of people, often angry or violent, an organized criminal group; the mafia, and to crowd around someone in large numbers, often aggressively.

## Topics
- People & Society

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mob