rob
Pronunciation: /rɒb/
verb ( robs, robbing, robbed)
- 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
- informal overcharge (someone) for something: Bob thinks my suit cost £70, and even then he thinks I was robbed
- informal or dialect steal: someone had robbed my jacket
- (rob someone of) deprive someone of (something needed or deserved): poor health has robbed her of a normal social life
- Soccer deprive (an opposing player) of the ball: Hughes robbed Vonk yards inside the City half
Phrases
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rob Peter to pay Paul
- take something away from one person to pay another; discharge one debt only to incur another: mainstream funding for the college was a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, reducing the budget all around for other colleges[probably with reference to the saints and apostles Peter and Paul; the allusion is uncertain, the phrase often showing variations such as 'unclothe Peter and clothe Paul', 'borrow from Peter …', etc.]
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French rober, of Germanic origin; related to the verb reave