robbery
Americannoun
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criminal law the stealing of property from a person by using or threatening to use force
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the act or an instance of robbing
Usage
What does robbery mean? Robbery is the act of robbing—stealing, especially by force or through threats of violence. Someone who commits robbery is called a robber. Robbery can involve robbing a person or a place, such as a house or business. The robbery of a person on the street is often called a mugging. The act of robbing a bank is called bank robbery. Armed robbery involves robbing a person or place while armed with a weapon. Robbery is a kind of theft, which is the act of stealing. However, the word theft often refers to a case in which a thief steals something without anyone noticing, at least not when the theft is taking place. In contrast, a case in which a person steals by using force, violence, or threats of violence would more likely be called a robbery. The word rob can also be used in a kind of figurative way meaning to unfairly deprive someone of something, but robbery is usually only used in a literal sense. Example: Police have released sketches of the suspects in the hopes that someone can identify the men involved in the robbery.
Other Word Forms
- antirobbery adjective
Etymology
Origin of robbery
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English robberie from Old French. See rob, -ery
Compare meaning
How does robbery compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A person who steals money from a convenience store by claiming to have a gun under his shirt is guilty of robbery, or using a violent threat to take something that doesn't belong to him. Whether a criminal wields a weapon or just threatens to hurt someone while stealing from that person, he is committing robbery. Robbery is different from burglary — breaking into a house or building to steal — because it involves a threat of danger to a person. Carjackings, stick-ups, and muggings are all different kinds of robbery.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Supreme Court will weigh a Virginia robbery case to decide if geofence warrants are an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a robbery call in the 8500 block of Lookout Mountain Avenue around 8 p.m.,
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
Barcelona's exit from the Champions League quarter-finals was "a robbery", their forward Raphinha says.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Ten years later, a different version of the painting was stolen in an armed robbery, along with the artist’s “Madonna,” from the Munch Museum across town.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Mr. Harmon, you say you weren't at the drugstore anytime during the day of the robbery.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
