Mob Meaning
/mɒb/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
nounThe lower classes of a community; the rabble.
Sentence Examples
The policeman was confronted by the angry mob.
The mob gathered round the car like so many flies.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A violent ____ of people gathered outside the government building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An angry ____ gathered outside the city hall to protest the government's decision to increase the local property taxes.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
"What if it is a mob killing? They can’t hurt me, but …"
— 1986, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: Under the Desert Stars, Dark Horse Books:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A violent ____ of people gathered outside the government building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An angry ____ gathered outside the city hall to protest the government's decision to increase the local property taxes.