mob en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- mŏb (Received-Pronunciation)
- /mɒb/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- mŏb (General-American)
- /mɑb/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”).
Meanings
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A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.
February 13, 1788, James Madison, Jr., Federalist No. 55See also: Mob (the masses)
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(archaic) The lower classes of a community; the rabble.
A cluster of mob, who were making themselves merry with their betters.
1715 May 31 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 44. Friday, May 21. [1715.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:
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(collective) A group of animals of any kind.
Well behind the fire were the pack-saddles and a dark mob of feeding horses[.]
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 11:
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(collective) A group of animals of any kind. ▸ A group of kangaroos.
The leader of a mob of kangaroos is the strongest and usually the largest male in the group.
2004, Louise Spilsbury, Richard Spilsbury, A Mob of Kangaroos, Heinemann Library, page 9:
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(broadly, collective) A group of animals of any kind. ▸ A group of any marsupial.
Sex difference in size is so marked, that one familiar with the animals, can easily pick out the males in a mob when some distance away.
1931, Bulletin, New York Zoological Society, page 34:There must be a whole mob of wombats living in here!
2024, Tylissa Elisara, Wurrtoo: The Wombat Who Fell in Love with the Sky, Hachette Australia:
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(collective) A group of animals of any kind. ▸ A group of emus.
In the gated area nearest the barn and the pond, there were goats and sheep, llamas and ponies, and a mob of emus.
2015, Doug Geeting, Running with the Mob: Stories About the Emus on the Farm:Not even Wellington's horse rode with greater precipitancy upon Napoleon's troops at Waterloo than Dick advanced upon the mob of emus.
1925, Joseph Bowes, The Fur-hunters in Australian Wilds, Humphrey Milford:Without a second's delay another great rushing comes nearer. "By Jove! a mob of emus," says the old hunter.
1886, Percy Clarke, The "new Chum" in Australia, Or, The Scenery, Life, and Manners of Australians in Town and Country, page 218:
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A mafia: a group that engages in organized crime.
See also: Mob, Mafia (proper noun senses for specific ones)
What if it is a mob killing? They can’t hurt me, but …
1986, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: Under the Desert Stars, Dark Horse Books:The Greeks, displaying a characteristic often a mark of defeated armies, pursued a 'scorched earth' policy toward western Anatolia... The Turkish population was subjected to horrible atrocities by the retreating troops and accompanying civilian Christian mobs.
1979, P. K. Jensen, “The Greco-Turkish war, 1920–1922”, in International Journal of Middle East Studies, volume 10, number 4, Cambridge University Press, →DOI, page 563:The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:
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(qualifier:Australian Aboriginal) A group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or country.
There’s a saying among blak mob, ‘It doesn’t matter how much milk you put in tea, it’s still tea.’ I am a descendant of genocide survivors, a child of the oldest living culture on Earth. Nothing, no amount of milk, can change that.
2021 November 7, Claire [G.] Coleman, “Not quite blak enough: ‘The people who think I am too white to be Aboriginal are all white’”, in The Guardian:There’s nothing like local knowledge and after thousands of years living here the Noongar mob understand this land better than anyone, so it makes sense for them to tap into the lucrative tourism industry.
2011 March 10, Allan Clarke, W.A. through Noongar eyes:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mobs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
flock · herd · herd · herd · herd
Deriveds
Mobtown · heavy mob · angry mob · mob law · mobbist · moblike · flashmob · mob-handed · vote mob · lynch mob · mob handed · mob stocking · trash mob · meal mob · mobsman · mobber · mob mentality · mobmobile · King Mob · flash mob · mob-handedness · mob wife · cybermob · mobbism · mobster · gopher mob · mob programming · swell mob · mob-handedly · Twittermob · moble · antimob · mobocracy · mob rule · mobbish · smart mob · mobocrat · rent-a-mob · woke mob · mobproof · mob football
Synonyms
Translations (127)
el όχλος (unruly group of people) · gl rabaño (group of animals) · es poblada (unruly group of people) · he המון (unruly group of people) · gl morralla (the lower classes of a community) · de Horde (unruly group of people) · la popellus (unruly group of people) · fr cohue (unruly group of people) · it accozzaglia (unruly group of people) · eo amaso (unruly group of people) · ca xusma (the lower classes of a community) · pl motłoch (unruly group of people) · gl zurrumalla (the lower classes of a community) · la turba (unruly group of people) · bg простолюдие (the lower classes of a community) · fi lauma (unruly group of people) · de Zusammenrottung (unruly group of people) · es caterva (unruly group of people) · es chusma (the lower classes of a community) · cs chátra (the lower classes of a community) · fi lauma (group of animals) · pl zgraja (unruly group of people) · gl gafualla (the lower classes of a community) · eo svarmo (unruly group of people) · es bahorrina (the lower classes of a community) · th ฝูงชน (unruly group of people) · io turbacho (unruly group of people) · lo ຝູງຊົນ (unruly group of people) · es tropel (unruly group of people) · es trulla (unruly group of people) · pt multidão (unruly group of people) · ru чернь (the lower classes of a community) · eo kanajlaro (unruly group of people) · gl gandaiada (unruly group of people) · el όχλος (group of animals) · de Herde (group of animals) · pl motłoch (the lower classes of a community) · gl xentualla (the lower classes of a community) · es gleba (the lower classes of a community) · nl menigte (unruly group of people) · gl benza (group of animals) · nl massa (unruly group of people) · nl kudde (group of animals) · sv mobb (unruly group of people) · lo ບໍລິສັດ (unruly group of people) · el σκυλολόι (unruly group of people) · it fiumana (unruly group of people) · gl gurrufalla (the lower classes of a community) · grc συρφετός (the lower classes of a community) · eo popolamaso (the lower classes of a community) · es picanterío (unruly group of people) · gl chusma (unruly group of people) · es gentuza (the lower classes of a community) · fr foule (unruly group of people) · ru толпа́ (unruly group of people) · gl grea (group of animals) · it schiera (unruly group of people) · gl gandallada (the lower classes of a community) · gl gafullada (the lower classes of a community) · it torma (unruly group of people) · vo jevodem (group of animals) · de Meute (unruly group of people) · ja 暴徒 (unruly group of people) · ru ста́до (group of animals) · yi אויפֿגעלאַף (unruly group of people) · gl avenza (group of animals) · es populacho (unruly group of people) · yi אָנגעלאַף (unruly group of people) · it teppaglia (unruly group of people) · bg тълпа (unruly group of people) · es rebaño (group of animals) · gl magote (group of animals) · ru ба́нда (unruly group of people) · it stuolo (unruly group of people) · es turba (unruly group of people) · pdt Menj (unruly group of people) · shn ၸုမ်းၵူၼ်း (unruly group of people) · eo plebo (the lower classes of a community) · gl chouma (the lower classes of a community) · de Pöbel (unruly group of people) · cs dav (unruly group of people) · gl cazualla (the lower classes of a community) · gl colimalla (the lower classes of a community) · la popellus (the lower classes of a community) · vo bubem (group of animals) · es maremágnum (unruly group of people) · sq turmë (unruly group of people) · ja 群れ (group of animals) · es patulea (unruly group of people) · is skríll (unruly group of people) · ru ша́йка (unruly group of people) · it branco (group of animals) · gl tagallo (group of animals) · cmn 暴民 (unruly group of people) · ru сброд (unruly group of people) · pl banda (unruly group of people) · pt turba (unruly group of people) · gl turba (unruly group of people) · cmn 烏合之眾 /乌合之众 (unruly group of people) · gd gràisg (unruly group of people) · gl xentalla (the lower classes of a community) · ka ბრბო (unruly group of people) · yi המון (unruly group of people) · pl tłuszcza (unruly group of people) · mi māpu (group of animals) · ca xurma (the lower classes of a community) · es germanía (unruly group of people) · gl beceira (group of animals) · eo homamaso (unruly group of people) · gl mancoalla (group of animals) · fr troupeau (unruly group of people) · it folla (unruly group of people) · is múgur (unruly group of people) · fi väkijoukko (unruly group of people) · mk толпа (unruly group of people) · gl tropa (unruly group of people) · es marabunta (unruly group of people) · es ganado (group of animals) · th ม็อบ (unruly group of people) · vo kangurem (group of animals) · pt gentalha (the lower classes of a community) · gl armentío (group of animals) · my အပြိန်း (unruly group of people) · hu csőcselék (unruly group of people) · cs stádo (group of animals) · tr ayaktakımı (unruly group of people) · it branco (unruly group of people)