as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the complaint that English football has been taken over by the yobs, who make the stadiums unfit for families
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Recent Examples of yob
There’s certainly little warmth surrounding the past here, beginning with an eerie, cryptic prologue, set in 1973, that sees a rural wedding crashed by yobs in sinister, medieval-looking straw masks, followed by yellowing newspaper headlines that puzzle over the bride’s subsequent disappearance.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024
Johnson has more to worry about than just random yobs disrupting the call.
—Mark Hachman, PCWorld, 31 Mar. 2020
After the yobs fled, the Sun reported, Cumberbatch hugged the deliveryman from Deliveroo, a U.K. food-delivery service.
—The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 2 June 2018
But these folk will not be your random yobs brought in to gawp.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2018
Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024
Johnson has more to worry about than just random yobs disrupting the call.
—Mark Hachman, PCWorld, 31 Mar. 2020
After the yobs fled, the Sun reported, Cumberbatch hugged the deliveryman from Deliveroo, a U.K. food-delivery service.
—The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 2 June 2018
But these folk will not be your random yobs brought in to gawp.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yob
Noun
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The thugs would insinuate themselves into the confidence of wayfarers and, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, strangle them by throwing a handkerchief or noose around their necks.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
No government masked thugs shooting down our neighbors in the streets.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The scheme is designed to identify suspected criminals, combat identity fraud, and to police the EU's limit on 90-day stays within a 180-day period, according to the European Commission.—
Emma Clarke,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Apr. 2026
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Rex Heuermann, the man known as the Gilgo Beach killer, admitted to killing eight women over a span of decades, and the FBI is now looking into what motivated the 62-year-old to carry out his crimes to help capture other criminals in the future.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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That’s before Morgan steals a necklace from a chintzy gift shop run by a Turkish gangster named Yusuf, who proceeds to kidnap the pair, intimidate them at gunpoint, and threaten their family, forcing them to perform an array of odd jobs to make up for the petty theft.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
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Longtime collaborators Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro reunited for this 2019 gangster epic, about the real-life hitman Frank Sheeran and his experiences working for the Mafia.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Like a cartoon villain, though, Paula kicks up the edge of the carpet, which causes poor Miriam to make a dog’s dinner of afternoon tea.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Nemesis achieves a lot, introducing a dangerous new villain that even the mighty Asgard fear, while ramping up the tension for a suitably dramatic season finale.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Yob.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yob. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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