daylight robbery

/ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi/

//ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi// noun

"daylight-robbery" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“daylight robbery” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The practice of cheating or of imposing an exorbitant charge for a product or service; (countable, rare) an instance of this.

Corpus desk

Index EN-daylight-robbery · daylight robbery · English

daylight robbery · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for daylight robbery
PropertyValue
Headworddaylight robbery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi/
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “daylight robbery” in English

daylight robberyranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

daylight robbery is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for daylight robbery in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From daylight + robbery, originally used literally to refer to robbery occurring in the daytime rather than at night, which was thought to be more audacious or risky. The correct English form is daylight robbery, spelled D-A-Y-L-I-G-H-T- -R-O-B-B-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The practice of cheating or of imposing an exorbitant charge for a product or service; (countable, rare) an instance of this.
  2. 2
    Conduct which unfairly deprives an opponent of an advantage or a win; (countable, rare) an instance of this.
  3. 3
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see daylight, robbery.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how daylight robbery appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A daylight robbery of a store carries with it a risk that the store clerk will be present and a confrontation will ensue, so grounds to fear a daylight robbery give rise to a reasonable inference that the defendant is armed and dangerous.

Etymology

From daylight + robbery, originally used literally to refer to robbery occurring in the daytime rather than at night, which was thought to be more audacious or risky.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "daylight robbery"?
"daylight robbery" is spelled D-A-Y-L-I-G-H-T- -R-O-B-B-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi/.
What does "daylight robbery" mean?
As a noun, "daylight robbery" means: The practice of cheating or of imposing an exorbitant charge for a product or service; (countable, rare) an instance of this.
How do you pronounce "daylight robbery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "daylight robbery" is /ˌdeɪlaɪt ˈɹɒb(ə)ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "daylight robbery"?
From daylight + robbery, originally used literally to refer to robbery occurring in the daytime rather than at night, which was thought to be more audacious or risky. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list