mugging

UK: /ˈmʌgɪŋ/ US: (mug′ing)

From the verb mug: (⇒ conjugate)

mugging is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mug•ging  (mug′ing), n. 

1. an assault or threat of violence upon a person, esp. with intent to rob.

• mug + -ing¹ 1840–50

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

mug /mʌg/   n., v., mugged, mug•ging. 
n. [countable]

1. a rounded drinking cup with a handle:
   a coffee mug.
2. the amount it holds:
   spilled a mug of coffee on the papers.
3. Slang Terms a person's face or mouth:
   Get your ugly mug out of here!

v. 

4. to assault or attack, usually in order to rob:
   [~ + object] He was mugged in a dark street.
5. Slang Terms to make faces:
   [no object] to mug for the camera.

mug•ger, n. [countable]
mug•ging, n. 

[countable] a savage mugging on a dark and deserted street.

[uncountable] a short prison term for mugging.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mug  (mug), n., v., mugged, mug•ging. 
n. 

1. a drinking cup, usually cylindrical in shape, having a handle, and often of a heavy substance, as earthenware.
2. the quantity it holds.
3. Slang Terms
   • the face.
   • the mouth.
   • an exaggerated facial expression;
     grimace, as in acting.
   • a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.
4. British Terms a gullible person;
   dupe;
   fool.

v.t. 

5. to assault or menace, esp. with the intention of robbery.
6. Slang Terms to photograph (a person), esp. in compliance with an official or legal requirement.

v.i. 

7. Slang Terms to grimace;
   exaggerate a facial expression, as in acting.

• Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg, Norwegian, Danish mugge drinking cup; sense "face'' apparently transferred from cups adorned with grotesque faces; sense "to assault'' from earlier pugilistic slang "to strike in the face, fight''
• probably 1560–70

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mug / mʌɡ/ noun

1. a drinking vessel with a handle, usually cylindrical and made of earthenware
2. Also called: mugful the quantity held by a mug or its contents

Etymology: 16th Century: probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg

mug / mʌɡ/ noun

1. a person's face or mouth: get your ugly mug out of here!
2. a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily
3. a mug's game ⇒ a worthless activity

verb (mugs, mugging, mugged)

1. (transitive) to attack or rob (someone) violently

Etymology: 18th Century: perhaps from mug¹, since drinking vessels were sometimes modelled into the likeness of a face