mob
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”). The video-gaming sense originates from English mobile, used by Richard Bartle for objects capable of movement in an early MUD.
Noun
mob (plural mobs)
- A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
- February 13, 1788, James Madison, Jr., Federalist No. 55
- Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.
- See also: Mob (the masses)
- February 13, 1788, James Madison, Jr., Federalist No. 55
- (archaic) The lower classes of a community; the rabble.
- 1715 June 1 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 44. Saturday, May 21. [1715.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:
- A cluster of mob, who were making themselves merry with their betters.
- (collective noun) A group of animals such as horses or cattle.
- (collective noun) A group of kangaroos.
- (collective noun) A flock of emus.
- A mafia: a group that engages in organized crime.
- 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 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.
- 1986, Paul Chadwick, Concrete: Under the Desert Stars, Dark Horse Books:
- What if it is a mob killing? They can’t hurt me, but …
- (Australian Aboriginal) A group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or country.[1]
- 2021 November 7, Claire [G.] Coleman, “Not quite blak enough: ‘The people who think I am too white to be Aboriginal are all white’”, in The Guardian:
- There’s a saying among blak mob, ‘It doesn’t matter how much milk you put in tea, it’s still tea.’ I am a descendant of genocide survivors, a child of the oldest living culture on Earth. Nothing, no amount of milk, can change that.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
unruly group of people
|
group of animals
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the lower classes of a community
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mafia — see mafia
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
mob (third-person singular simple present mobs, present participle mobbing, simple past and past participle mobbed)
- (transitive) To crowd around (someone), sometimes with hostility.
- The fans mobbed a well-dressed couple who resembled their idols.
- 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian:
- Politicians have been turning up to Glastonbury for years, but this year the leader of the opposition was among the most hotly anticipated attractions: when he arrived on site, his Land Rover was mobbed by fans.
- (transitive) To crowd into or around a place.
- The shoppers mobbed the store on the first day of the sale.
Translations
to crowd around a person
Etymology 2
Alteration of mab.
Noun
mob (plural mobs)
- (obsolete) A promiscuous woman; a harlot or wench; a prostitute. [17th–18th c.]
- A mob cap.
- c. 1773-1774, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs Bunbury
- cover their faces with mobs
- c. 1773-1774, Oliver Goldsmith, letter to Mrs Bunbury
Derived terms
Verb
mob (third-person singular simple present mobs, present participle mobbing, simple past and past participle mobbed)
- (transitive) To wrap up in, or cover with, a cowl.
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of mobile.
Noun
mob (plural mobs)
- Abbreviation of mobile phone.
- (video games) A non-player character, especially one that exists to be fought or killed to further the progression of the story or game.
- Synonym: mobile
- 2002, Wolfie, “Re: Whoa - massive changes due in next patch”, in alt.games.everquest (Usenet):
- You can't win with small, balanced groups. You have to zerg the mob with a high number of players.
Usage notes
- (mobile phone): This is most often used in signwriting to match with the other three-letter abbreviations tel (“telephone”) and fax (“facsimile”).
Further reading
References
Anagrams
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