1
: a large and disorderly crowd of people
especially
: one bent on riotous or destructive action
2
informal
: a large number of people
a mob of shoppers clogged the aisles
a team greeted by mobs of fans
3
: a criminal set : gang
4
old-fashioned
: the common people : masses
5
chiefly Australia
: a flock, drove, or herd of animals
mobbed; mobbing
1
: to crowd about and attack or annoy
mobbed by autograph hunters
a crow mobbed by songbirds
2
: to crowd into or around
customers mob the stores on sale days
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Noun
The angry mob smashed store windows and attacked people on the streets.
The police had to be called in to handle the growing mob.
He was jailed for his dealings with the Mob.
Verb
The actor's fans mobbed him wherever he went.
Shoppers mobbed the stores during the holidays.
Recent Examples on the Web
Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
Rostopchin knew the charges were somewhat trumped up, but still allowed Vereschagin to be beaten to death by public mobs in the most savage of ways.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 3 May 2023
With songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the show follows two musician friends who disguise themselves as women and join an all-girl band to flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit.
—Mark Kennedy, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2023
Skeins of geese and vanguards of vireos in the sky; a four-day mob of warblers passing through the neighborhood on their way from somewhere to somewhere else.
—Ty Burr, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2023
And then, the faceless mob moved on, leaving an already grieving family devastated in its wake.
—Elizabeth Koh, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Todd Golden, in only his first season as Florida’s basketball, finished with a 16-17 record but has been getting hammered by UF’s Twitter mob for most of the season.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2023
The department also worked with the police to increase their capacity to control mobs that might seek to attack these animals and, perhaps most important, with the municipality to initiate garbage collection in areas around the park frequented by leopards.
—Vidya Athreya, Scientific American, 27 Mar. 2023
Critics see short-term virtue-signaling after a mob attacked Congress hoping to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat, before corporate America reverted to self-interest.
—Joseph Morton, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2023
Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 8 May 2023
Bund, China’s most famous destinations are being mobbed during the Labor Day holiday by throngs of domestic tourists who are traveling again in huge numbers after the country ended three years of strict pandemic controls.
—Chris Lau, CNN, 1 May 2023
The 61-goal man (5-0–5 in this series) glided into the corner and jumped into the glass, before he was mobbed by his teammates.
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023
After speeding across the plate, he was mobbed on the bench, embracing a sea of hugs and high fives with a wide smile on his face.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
Afterward, the Beavers stormed out of the third base dugout and mobbed Smith near first base, celebrating one of their most dramatic and important victories of the season.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 17 Apr. 2023
American tourists mobbed Europe last year, and 2023 is looking even busier, travel advisers say.
—Jacob Passy, wsj.com, 17 Apr. 2023
The former Manchester United goalie — who recently came out of retirement to aid Reynold's squad after their starting goalie got injured — dove to his right and barely got his hand on a penalty shot, securing the win as his team mobbed him in front of the net.
—Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2023
In years past, he would be mobbed by shareholders trying to snap a picture with him while a team of security officers worked to manage the crowd.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 6 May 2023
See More
Noun
There, DeGrave helped a mob force open the East Rotunda doors from the inside, DeGrave and Sandlin assaulted police officers, and all three breached the Senate chamber just evacuated by lawmakers, all three admitted.
—Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
Rostopchin knew the charges were somewhat trumped up, but still allowed Vereschagin to be beaten to death by public mobs in the most savage of ways.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 3 May 2023
With songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the show follows two musician friends who disguise themselves as women and join an all-girl band to flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit.
—Mark Kennedy, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2023
Skeins of geese and vanguards of vireos in the sky; a four-day mob of warblers passing through the neighborhood on their way from somewhere to somewhere else.
—Ty Burr, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2023
And then, the faceless mob moved on, leaving an already grieving family devastated in its wake.
—Elizabeth Koh, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Apr. 2023
Todd Golden, in only his first season as Florida’s basketball, finished with a 16-17 record but has been getting hammered by UF’s Twitter mob for most of the season.
—Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2023
The department also worked with the police to increase their capacity to control mobs that might seek to attack these animals and, perhaps most important, with the municipality to initiate garbage collection in areas around the park frequented by leopards.
—Vidya Athreya, Scientific American, 27 Mar. 2023
Critics see short-term virtue-signaling after a mob attacked Congress hoping to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat, before corporate America reverted to self-interest.
—Joseph Morton, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2023
Verb
Shareholders and visitors mobbed the Berkshire executive for photos and selfies as Abel walked the floor on Saturday.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 8 May 2023
Bund, China’s most famous destinations are being mobbed during the Labor Day holiday by throngs of domestic tourists who are traveling again in huge numbers after the country ended three years of strict pandemic controls.
—Chris Lau, CNN, 1 May 2023
The 61-goal man (5-0–5 in this series) glided into the corner and jumped into the glass, before he was mobbed by his teammates.
—Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023
After speeding across the plate, he was mobbed on the bench, embracing a sea of hugs and high fives with a wide smile on his face.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
Afterward, the Beavers stormed out of the third base dugout and mobbed Smith near first base, celebrating one of their most dramatic and important victories of the season.
—Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 17 Apr. 2023
American tourists mobbed Europe last year, and 2023 is looking even busier, travel advisers say.
—Jacob Passy, wsj.com, 17 Apr. 2023
The former Manchester United goalie — who recently came out of retirement to aid Reynold's squad after their starting goalie got injured — dove to his right and barely got his hand on a penalty shot, securing the win as his team mobbed him in front of the net.
—Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2023
In years past, he would be mobbed by shareholders trying to snap a picture with him while a team of security officers worked to manage the crowd.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 6 May 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mob.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing mob
Articles Related to mob
Dictionary Entries Near mob
Cite this Entry
“Mob.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mob. Accessed 3 Jun. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on mob
Nglish: Translation of mob for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of mob for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mob
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