mob
/mɑb/noun, verb
mob is spelled M-O-B: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mob means “A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mob is mobs.
How many letters and syllables are in mob?
| Letters | 3: M-O-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mob?
Mob appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mob?
- UK /mɒb/
- US /mɑb/
Mob has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mob.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with mob?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mob from its last stressed vowel (/ɑb/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mob
- mobs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- mobbing participle, present
- mobbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mob mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.
- 2
archaicThe lower classes of a community; the rabble.
- 3
A group of animals of any kind.
- 4
A group of kangaroos.
- 5
A group of any marsupial.
- 6
A group of emus.
- 7
A mafia: a group that engages in organized crime.
See also: Mob, Mafia (proper noun senses for specific ones)
- 8
A group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or country.
- 9
obsoleteA promiscuous woman; a harlot or wench; a prostitute.
- 10
A mob cap.
- 11
Abbreviation of mobile phone.
- 12
A creature or non-player character, especially one meant to be fought or killed.
- 13
A background character in general.
verb
- 1
To crowd around (someone), sometimes with hostility.
The fans mobbed a well-dressed couple who resembled their idols.
- 2
To crowd into or around a place.
The shoppers mobbed the store on the first day of the sale.
- 3
To wrap up in, or cover with, a cowl.
interjection
- 1
Initialism of man overboard, used e.g. on the emergency button of a satellite navigator. By pushing the button the operator stores the coordinates of a man overboard incident for easy access.
adjective
- 1
Initialism of mesio occlusal buccal.
- 2
Initialism of missing on blog, the act of abandoning ones blog (or weblog) for an extended period of time.
noun
- 1
Initialism of mother of the bride.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mob in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | troupeau, cohue, foule |
| German | Pöbel, Meute, Horde, Zusammenrottung , Herde |
| Portuguese | multidão, turba , gentalha |
| Spanish | turba, tropel, germanía, marabunta, caterva, maremágnum |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mob come from?
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).