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• mob
  mob

  noun

  a disorderly or riotous crowd of people.
• MOB
  MOB

  mother of the bride.

mob

¹ American  

[mob] / mɒb /

noun

1. a disorderly or riotous crowd of people.

2. a crowd bent on or engaged in lawless violence.

3. any group or collection of persons or things.

4. the common people; the masses; populace or multitude.

5. a criminal gang, especially one involved in drug trafficking, extortion, etc.

6. the Mob, Mafia.

7. Sociology. a group of persons stimulating one another to excitement and losing ordinary rational control over their activity.

8. a flock, herd, or drove of animals.

   a mob of sheep.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a lawless, irrational, disorderly, or riotous crowd: mob instincts.

   mob rule;

   mob instincts.

2. directed at or reflecting the lowest intellectual level of the common people: the mob mentality.

   mob appeal;

   the mob mentality.

verb (used with object)

• mobs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• mobbed,
  past participle,  past
• mobbing
  present participle

1. to crowd around noisily, as from curiosity or hostility.

   Spectators mobbed the courtroom.

2. to attack in a riotous mob.

   The crowd mobbed the consulate.

3. Fox Hunting. to chop (a fox).

mob ² American  

[mob, mohb] / mɒb, moʊb /

noun

Digital Technology.

1. (in a video game) a hostile nonplayer character that the player may target and fight.

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MOB ³ American  

1. mother of the bride.

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mob ¹ British  

/ mɒb /

noun

1. 1. a riotous or disorderly crowd of people; rabble

   2. ( as modifier )

      mob law

      mob violence

2. derogatory a group or class of people, animals, or things

3. a flock (of sheep) or a herd (of cattle, esp when droving)

4. derogatory the masses

5. slang a gang of criminals

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verb

1. to attack in a group resembling a mob

2. to surround, esp in order to acclaim

   they mobbed the film star

3. to crowd into (a building, plaza, etc)

4. (of a group of animals of a prey species) to harass (a predator)

MOB ² British  

abbreviation

1. mobile phone

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Usage

What does mob mean? A mob is an unruly and often violent group of people, especially one engaged in a riot or other lawless violence. Some mobs organize intentionally to engage in violence and destruction, but sometimes people assemble spontaneously and turn into a mob, such as in reaction to some event. Because people who have massed together in such a way typically don’t follow any formal leadership or string of command, mobs are known for getting out of control and engaging in chaotic, unpredictable, and often violent behavior. Sometimes, the word refers to a large group of people acting in an aggressive or hostile way in a virtual space, as in Don’t post that unless you want to feel the wrath of the social media mob. This sense of mob is often used as a modifier (adjective) to describe things carried out by mobs or involving mobs, as in mob violence and mob rule. Like the word riot, the word mob is sometimes intentionally used inaccurately to portray groups in a negative way when this characterization is not warranted. For example, an opponent of a protest might call a group of peaceful protesters a mob as an attempt to discredit the protesters and their message. The word mob can also be used as a verb meaning to assemble in large numbers or crowd around someone or something, especially in an unruly way, as in Holiday shoppers mobbed the store as soon as it opened or The star is mobbed by photographers every time she leaves her house. A place or person who has been crowded in this way can be described with the adjective mobbed. As a verb, mob can also mean to attack as a mob, as in Wave after wave of rebels mobbed the embassy. Mob is sometimes used as a noun in a more figurative way to collectively refer to common people or the masses, in which case it is typically preceded by the, as in His campaign platform is too subtle to win over the mob. This sense of the word often implies that the common people lack sophistication, intelligence, or are otherwise base and crude. This is what’s implied in the phrase mob mentality, which refers to a mindset motivated by the basest human instincts. Much more specifically, organized crime groups known as the Mafia are sometimes also referred to as the Mob. A member of the Mob can be called a mobster. Example: Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of a mob is that the group and the people in it have passed the point of being able to be reasoned with.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mobber
  noun
• mobbishness
  noun
• mobbism
  noun
• mobbist
  noun
• mobbish
  adjective
• unmobbed
  adjective
• mobbishly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• mobbing
  present
• mobbed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mob
  simple
• mobs
  simple
• have mobbed
  perfect
• has mobbed
  perfect
• am mobbing
  progressive
• are mobbing
  progressive
• is mobbing
  progressive
• have been mobbing
  perfect progressive
• has been mobbing
  perfect progressive

Past

• mobbed
  simple
• had mobbed
  perfect
• was mobbing
  progressive
• were mobbing
  progressive
• had been mobbing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mob
  simple
• will have mobbed
  perfect
• will be mobbing
  progressive
• will have been mobbing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of mob¹

First recorded in 1680–90; short for Latin mōbile vulgus “the movable (i.e., changeable, inconstant) common people”

Origin of mob²

First recorded in 1980–85; coined by British video game developer Richard Bartle; shortening of mobile (in the sense “a moving sculpture hung from the ceiling”)

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Explanation

A mob is a big, rowdy group of people. You might avoid shopping at the mall right before Christmas because you can't stand the mob of shoppers. A mob might gather around the piñata at a big birthday party or cluster in front of a music venue when tickets go on sale for a hugely popular concert. When people join one of these groups, you can also say that they mob, and "the mob" also sometimes refers to organized crime. You might describe the hundreds of people thronging the county fair on Friday night as a "mob scene." The Latin root, mobile vulgus, means "fickle common people."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mob MOB mobs mobbed mobbing

"These things should be litigated through the criminal process or through some sort of fair process, not through a social media mob or witch hunt."

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

"They're angry at the chief constable for allowing lawlessness to win, for allowing the mob to dictate," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

It underscores the dangers of mob mentality and the manosphere, while also emphasizing that despite all of the progress LGBTQ+ people have made, they are still in serious peril.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The flash mob in Cathedral Square featured Got2Sing choir members as well as residents as they raised money for Alzheimer's Research UK.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

I mean, I don’t want to read too much into things, but wow: I meet a cute boy, and five seconds later, I’m in the middle of a flash mob marriage proposal?

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The Adolescence team, she told BBC News in April, had approached the Drama MOB school while casting the series, asking to see tapes of their "strongest northern boys".

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025

I am the MOB who has been forbidden to discuss this with the MOG.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2021

Louis Vuitton was recently involved in a suit against a brand called My Other Bag, which uses a pattern similar to theirs with MOB printed as opposed to LV.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2016

Aerial MOB has already submitted about 18 applications for drone permits to the FAA, two of which have been approved, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2014

Later, the Bruins moved the Curb Event Center, and the MOB slowly grew.

From Newsweek ● Mar. 15, 2011

In Belfast itself, local communities have gathered en masse to support their immigrant neighbors, whether by hiding them from roving mobs or raising money to repair their homes and businesses.

From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2026

The name suggests altitude, and this whitewashed village of barely 2,000 in the Algarve region is only a half-hour’s drive inland from the beach town of Albufeira and its package-tour mobs but feels centuries away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Duer was dragged to the gaol on March 23, trailed by mobs of creditors, including members of the city’s most prominent families.

From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026

Since opening in 2015, Infinite Flow has performed at more than 350 events, from K-5 school assemblies to 100-person flash mobs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025

Taking our cue from the courageous civil rights advocates who brazenly refused to defend themselves, marching unarmed past white mobs that threatened to kill them, we, too, must be the change we hope to create.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

When thousands mobbed the gates at a Kilkenny stop on an unforgiving timetable, Taylor refused to turn a blind eye.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Fans mobbed an airport to jeer him as he boarded a private jet bound for LSU.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

At the final whistle, Kinsky was mobbed by team-mates in a mixture of euphoria and relief.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

As it turns out, his SkyBridge Capital has been able to satisfy only a fraction of redemption requests as investors mobbed the exits in the last few years.

From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026

The frenzied fairies mobbed him again, and he lost his grip on the side, vanishing in another pulsing succession of colored flashes.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

But as any financial news reader knows, investors have been mobbing the exits of nontraded private credit funds in the past month.

From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026

When the last out was recorded, a club so hungry to add to its 2020 title came pouring out of the dugout, mobbing Buehler on the mound.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2024

“You’ve got a scholarship,” Foster said to cheers from the other players who leaped from their seats, mobbing Prongos in a celebration reminiscent of when Foster was introduced in the same auditorium seven months earlier.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2024

The media's pursuit of Amy Winehouse is one of the main themes of the film, with paparazzi shown camping outside her home and mobbing her in the street.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2024

They’re screaming and cheering and mobbing the team, who pulled out a fantastic win tonight.

From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper

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Related Words

• clan
• crowd
• flock
• gang
• horde
• mass
• riot
• swarm
• throng
• troop

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