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rob

Syllabification: (rob)
Pronunciation: /räb/
Translate rob | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of rob

verb (robs, robbing, robbed)

[with object]
  • take property unlawfully from (a person or place) by force or threat of force:he tried, with three others, to rob a bank she was robbed of her handbag [no object]:he was convicted of assault with intent to rob
  • (usually be robbed) informal overcharge (someone) for something:Bob thinks my suit cost $100, and even then he thinks I was robbed
  • informal or dialect steal:he accused her of robbing the cream out of his chocolate eclair
  • deprive (someone or something) of something needed, deserved, or significant:poor health has robbed her of a normal social life

Phrases

rob Peter to pay Paul

take something away from one person to pay another, leaving the former at a disadvantage; discharge one debt only to incur another.
[probably with reference to the apostles Peter and Paul; the allusion is uncertain, the phrase often showing variations such as 'unclothe Peter and clothe Paul', 'borrow from Peter …', etc.]

rob someone blind

see blind.

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French rober, of Germanic origin; related to the verb reave

rob in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of rob in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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