Definition

1. Noun:
   • The crime of taking property unlawfully from a person or place by force or threat of force: "Robbery" specifically refers to theft that involves violence or the immediate threat of violence against a victim. It is a serious felony.
   • An act or instance of committing this crime: "Robbery" can also refer to a specific event where this crime is carried out.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • He was arrested and charged with armed robbery.
  • The convenience store was the scene of a robbery last night.
  • The victim described the robbery in detail to the police.

Advanced Usage

• "Highway robbery": This idiom originally meant robbery committed on a public road. In modern informal use, it describes a situation where a price is considered outrageously high and unfair.
  • Paying fifty dollars for a simple sandwich is highway robbery.
• "Daylight robbery": Similar to "highway robbery," this British English idiom refers to a blatantly unfair and exorbitant price or charge.
  • The service fees on that ticket are daylight robbery.

Variants and Related Words

• Rob (verb): To commit robbery; to take property from (a person or place) illegally by using force or threats.
  • The thieves robbed the bank.
• Robber (noun): A person who commits robbery.
  • The robber was wearing a mask.

Synonyms

• Theft: The general act of stealing property. (Note: "Robbery" is a specific type of theft involving force/threat.)
• Mugging: A robbery that takes place in a public space, often involving sudden attack.
• Hold-up: An informal term for a robbery, especially one where criminals use weapons to force compliance.
• Larceny: The legal term for theft of personal property.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions

• To rob [someone] of [something]: This construction is used to specify what was stolen and from whom.
  • They robbed him of his wallet and phone.
• To rob [a place]: This construction is used when the target of the robbery is a building or institution.
  • The gang robbed three banks in the city.

Related Idioms

• To rob Peter to pay Paul: To take from one source to pay another, solving one problem but creating another.
  • Using your rent money to pay off a credit card is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Noun

1. plundering during riots or in wartime
2. larceny by threat of violence