Mob
|mob|
🇺🇸
/mɑb/
🇬🇧
/mɒb/
disorderly crowd
Etymology
'Mob' originates from the Latin phrase 'mobile vulgus' (Neo-Latin), where 'mobile' meant 'movable, fickle' and 'vulgus' meant 'common people'.
'Mob' was shortened in English from the Neo-Latin phrase 'mobile (vulgus)' used in the 17th century; by the early 18th century the clipped form 'mob' was established in modern English.
Initially it referred to the 'movable' or 'fickle common people' and over time shifted to mean a disorderly crowd and, in certain contexts, an organized criminal group ('the Mob').
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a large, disorderly crowd of people, especially one that may become violent or cause damage.
A Mob gathered outside the courthouse.
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Noun 2
informal: organized crime groups collectively (especially the Mafia) — often used with the definite article 'the'.
Rumors linked him to the Mob.
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Verb 1
to gather around or attack someone or something in a large, disorderly group; to crowd round aggressively.
Reporters Mob the politician whenever he appears.
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Last updated: 2025/11/30 20:04