rob

UK: /ˈrɒb/ US: /rɑb/ ,(rob)

Inflections of 'rob' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

robs

v 3rd person singular

robbing

v pres p

robbed

v past

robbed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

rob /rɑb/   v., robbed, rob•bing. 

1. to take something by unlawful force;
   steal from: [~ + object]
   The crooks robbed several banks.
   [~ + object + of + object]
   They robbed him of all his money.
   [no object]
   roaming the countryside, robbing and murdering.
2. to take away from (someone) some right or cheat (someone) out of something:
   [~ + object + of + object] robbed her of her inheritance.
3. to deprive of something unjustly: [~ + object + of + object]
   The shock robbed him of speech.
   [~ + object]
   The team felt it had been robbed because the umpire made a mistake.

rob•ber, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

rob  (rob), v., robbed, rob•bing. 
v.t. 

1. to take something from (someone) by unlawful force or threat of violence;
   steal from.
2. to deprive (someone) of some right or something legally due:
   They robbed her of her inheritance.
3. to plunder or rifle (a house, shop, etc.).
4. to deprive of something unjustly or injuriously:
   The team was robbed of a home run hitter when the umpire called it a foul ball. The shock robbed him of his speech.
5. Mining to remove ore or coal from (a pillar).

v.i. 
6. to commit or practice robbery.
7. rob Peter to pay Paul, to take something from one person or thing to pay one's debt or hypothetical debt to another, as to sacrifice one's health by overworking.
• Gmc; compare Old High German roubōn. See reave¹
• Old French robber
• Middle English robben 1175–1225
Synonyms
• 1. Rob, rifle, sack refer to seizing possessions that belong to others.
  Rob is the general word for taking possessions by unlawful force or violence:
  to rob a bank, a house, a train.
  A term with a more restricted meaning is rifle, to make a thorough search for what is valuable or worthwhile, usually within a small space:
  to rifle a safe.
  On the other hand,
  sack is a term for robbery on a huge scale during war; it suggests destruction accompanying pillage, and often includes the indiscriminate massacre of civilians:
  to sack a town or district.
• 2. defraud, cheat.

Rob  (rob), n. 

1. a male given name, form of Robert. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

rob / rɒb/ verb (robs, robbing, robbed)

1. (transitive) to take something from (someone) illegally, as by force or threat of violence
2. to plunder (a house, shop, etc)
3. (transitive) to deprive unjustly: to be robbed of an opportunity

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French rober, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German roubōn to rob

ˈrobber noun