mob
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a large, noisy, and often violent group of people.
n.a large or disorderly crowd of people, especially one intent on causing trouble or violence.
Simple“An angry mob gathered outside the courthouse to protest the decision.”
In context“The police struggled to contain the mob as it surged toward the gates of the embassy during the height of the riots.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a group of people involved in organized crime, like the Mafia.
n.a criminal organization or syndicate, specifically referring to the Mafia or similar groups.
Simple“He was arrested for his alleged connections to the local mob.”
In context“Federal investigators spent years tracking the financial transactions of the mob before they finally secured enough evidence for an indictment.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a monster or character in a video game that you have to fight.
n.a non-player character (NPC) in a video game, typically one that is hostile and intended for combat.
Simple“The player was defeated after being surrounded by a large group of mobs.”
In context“The game's difficulty spikes significantly when multiple high-level mobs spawn simultaneously in the dungeon.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a group of animals, especially sheep, cattle, or kangaroos.
n.a collective noun for a group of animals, particularly livestock or Australian wildlife.
Simple“A mob of kangaroos hopped across the road just as the sun was setting.”
In context“The drover managed to keep the mob of cattle together despite the sudden thunderstorm that threatened to scatter them.”
- 05 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to crowd around someone in a noisy or excited way.
v.to crowd around or surround someone, either with hostile intent or out of intense admiration.
Simple“Fans began to mob the singer as soon as she stepped out of the car.”
In context“Reporters continued to mob the witness, shouting questions and blocking his path to the waiting vehicle.”
“Some 50,000 ceutíes (residents of Ceuta) recently took to the streets and a mob even stormed the migrants’ camp destroyed their shacks and threw their belongings into the sea or burned them.”
“They had not long sat down in the restaurant when they were dragged outside by a mob.”
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”).
Alteration of mab.
Clipping of mobile. The video-gaming sense is sometimes reported as an abbreviation of man or beast or of mobile object, but these are backronyms.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.