robbery
/ˈrɒb(ə)ri
/noun (plural robberies) [mass noun]
1The action of robbing a person or place: he was involved in drugs, extortion, and robbery [count noun]: an armed robbery...
- England and Wales already have the highest levels of burglaries, car thefts, assaults and robberies in the industrialised world.
- The story concerns a criminal gang called The Vampires, mysterious and resourceful, that terrorizes France with a succession of swindles, robberies, and murders.
- She has been framed by the gangsters and is wanted for several armed robberies.
Synonyms
burglary, theft, thievery, stealing, breaking and entering, housebreaking, larceny, shoplifting, pilfering, filching, embezzlement, misappropriation, swindling, fraud;
hold-up, break-in, raid;
looting, pillage, plunder
informal mugging, smash-and-grab, steaming, snatch
British informal blag
North American informal heist, stick-up
1.1 informal Unashamed swindling or overcharging: ‘Twenty-five bucks! Robbery!’
Synonyms
extortion, exorbitant, expensive
informal a rip-off, steep
British informal daylight robbery
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French and Old French roberie, from the verb rober (see rob).