rob
verb /rɒb/
/rɑːb/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| 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/ |
- 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 CrimeCrimeCommitting 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/people smuggling/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/immigrants
- 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
- 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
- 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 ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmentb2- 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.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryRob is used with these nouns as the object:- bank
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French rober, of Germanic origin.
Idioms
rob somebody blind
- (informal) to cheat or trick somebody so that they lose a lot of money
- You can’t trust them. They’ll rob you blind as soon as your back is turned.
rob the cradle
- (North American English, informal) to have a sexual relationship with a much younger person
rob Peter to pay Paul
- (saying) to borrow money from one person to pay back what you owe to another person; to take money from one thing to use for something else