1
as in throngs
a great number of persons or creatures massed together
a mob of pigeons soon flocked around us after they spied the bread crumbs
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2
as in gangs
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
the club owner was accused of having connections with a mob of racketeers
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in masses
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite
political speeches designed to appeal to the mob
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mobs
CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Several of King’s marches were attacked by white mobs, but LaFayette and Young challenged the notion that the Chicago movement was a failure.
—ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Mexican history is riddled with the tales of once-powerful syndicates — gangs in Guadalajara, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, among them — that ruptured, were gobbled up by other mobs or petered out as the big guys were captured or killed.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
But the arrangement also meant tiny villages in the Alps weren't totally overrun with mobs of people.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 23 Feb. 2026
When Mose Norman, a prosperous Black farmer, attempted to cast his ballot, white mobs retaliated with brutal force.
—Debbie Deland, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2026
There’s real, sweat-inducing tension to scenes where Esther, alone at home with her children, is encircled and menaced by mobs of men preying on the easiest of targets.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2026
Grasso turned his attention to expanding the family’s territory, pushing the New York mobs out of New Haven, Hartford and Springfield.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2026
Civilians misidentified as undercover officers have been chased by anti-ICE mobs in public, even while the victims were going about their daily lives, based on erroneous reporting from fellow ICE monitors.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 4 Feb. 2026
Noun
Several of King's marches were attacked by White mobs, but LaFayette and Young challenged the notion that the Chicago movement was a failure.
—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
Several of King’s marches were attacked by white mobs, but LaFayette and Young challenged the notion that the Chicago movement was a failure.
—ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Mexican history is riddled with the tales of once-powerful syndicates — gangs in Guadalajara, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, among them — that ruptured, were gobbled up by other mobs or petered out as the big guys were captured or killed.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
But the arrangement also meant tiny villages in the Alps weren't totally overrun with mobs of people.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 23 Feb. 2026
When Mose Norman, a prosperous Black farmer, attempted to cast his ballot, white mobs retaliated with brutal force.
—Debbie Deland, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2026
There’s real, sweat-inducing tension to scenes where Esther, alone at home with her children, is encircled and menaced by mobs of men preying on the easiest of targets.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2026
Grasso turned his attention to expanding the family’s territory, pushing the New York mobs out of New Haven, Hartford and Springfield.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 12 Feb. 2026
Civilians misidentified as undercover officers have been chased by anti-ICE mobs in public, even while the victims were going about their daily lives, based on erroneous reporting from fellow ICE monitors.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mobs
Noun
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Two small tents shaded those who got there earliest, leaving throngs of fans — the rest of us — to bake in the sun as security locked our phones in pouches.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The throngs gathered for what almost happened and what actually did take place.—
Ken Sugiura,
AJC.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Violence perpetrated by gangs resulted in at least 1,424 people killed and 790 injured; operations against gangs led by security forces, meanwhile, caused at least 3,497 deaths and 1,742 injuries; attacks against gangs by self-defense groups have caused at least 598 deaths and 76 injuries.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
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He was set to be imprisoned at the Salvadoran mega-prison CECOT, despite a judge's 2019 order that blocked his deportation there on the grounds that he could be harmed by local gangs.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The concept of drone swarms is taking on new significance as major militaries shift from viewing large numbers of autonomous land, sea, and air vehicles as a threat to treating them as a strategic asset.—
David Szondy
March 22,
New Atlas,
22 Mar. 2026
-
For their part, Iranian officials signaled that energy facilities were on the table as swarms of its drones targeted the Shaybah oil field in Saudi Arabia, the Shah gas field southwest of Abu Dhabi and oil facilities in Fujairah.—
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen,
The Conversation,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As spring break travel winds down, airports across the country are still dealing with heavy crowds and long security lines, amid the partial government shutdown.—
Marissa Armas,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Advantaged by a much higher rate of sellout crowds than the norm on the West Coast, San Diego State’s men’s basketball program nonetheless is facing stiff economic challenges, as does the school’s football program and, above all, the athletic department as a whole.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Aside from royally pissing off hordes of fans (with an average attendance of 25,048 per game, MLB turnstile spins in ’95 were down 20% compared to the league’s pre-strike mark of 31,240), the strike also coincided with a series of media shakeups.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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Some are good for taking out enemy hordes, while others focus on lower shields to do more damage.—
Gieson Cacho,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The sequel to Dhurandhar, which was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in North America at $20 million last year, stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Karachi’s criminal syndicates and Pakistani politics.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
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The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Studt recommends heading over to one of Palm Beach County’s larger nature preserves, such as Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter or Loxahatchee Slough in Palm Beach Gardens, to catch a glimpse of the spirited flocks.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Cliff swallows are highly social and travel in large flocks.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For almost as long, these two clans have also been intimate friends (and relations) of the Pelosi family.—
James Reginato,
Vanity Fair,
5 Mar. 2026
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Salvation takes place in a mountainous region of Turkey where two Kurdish clans have grown up in constant distrust of each other.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mobs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mobs. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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