Definition of rob verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rob

verb

/rɒb/

/rɑːb/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they rob	/rɒb/ /rɑːb/
he / she / it robs	/rɒbz/ /rɑːbz/
past simple robbed	/rɒbd/ /rɑːbd/
past participle robbed	/rɒbd/ /rɑːbd/
-ing form robbing	/ˈrɒbɪŋ/ /ˈrɑːbɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

jump to other results

rob somebody/something (of something) to steal money or property from a person or place
- to rob a bank
- The tomb had been robbed of its treasures.
- The gang had robbed and killed the drugstore owner.
Collocations Crime
CrimeCommitting a crime
- commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
- be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/human trafficking
- engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
- steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
- rob a bank/a person/a tourist
- break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
- hijack a plane/ship/bus
- smuggle drugs/weapons/arms
- traffic people/wildlife/narcotics/cocaine
- launder drug money (through something)
- forge documents/certificates/passports
- take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
- run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
Fighting crime
- combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
- prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
- deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
- reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
- foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
- help/support/protect the victims of crime
Investigating crime
- report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
- witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
- investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
- conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
- investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
- examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
- collect/gather forensic evidence
- uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
- describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
- question/interrogate a suspect/witness
- solve/crack the case
Extra Examples
- The tourists were robbed of their bags.
- An armed gang robbed a bank in Main Street last night.
- He was accused of robbing the company's pension funds.
- In the 19th century doctors robbed graves to obtain cadavers for medical training purposes.
Topics Crime and punishmentb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Rob is used with these nouns as the object:
bank
See full entry
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French rober, of Germanic origin.

Want to learn more?

Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.