mob

/mɒb/

//mɒb// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mob" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mob” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #6,810) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,810
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mob · mob · English

mob · rank #6,810 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,810
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mineral

Nearest frequency peer: mineral (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “mob”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mob” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mob vs my
33% similar
mob vs Mr
0% similar
mob vs MS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mob
PropertyValue
Headwordmob
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɒb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,810
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mob” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).moblands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “mineral” (#6,809), “modest” (#6,811), “mechanisms” (#6,808). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mob is neighbouring look-alikes ("my", "Mr", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /mɒb/. Frequency #6,810 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mob, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "Mr", "MS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”). The correct English form is mob, spelled M-O-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
  2. 2
    The lower classes of a community; the rabble.
  3. 3
    A group of animals such as horses or cattle.
  4. 4
    (collective) A group of kangaroos.
  5. 5
    (collective) A group of emus.
  6. 6
    A mafia: a group that engages in organized crime.
  7. 7
    A group of Aboriginal people associated with an extended family group, clan group or wider community group, from a particular place or country.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.
  2. See also: Mob (the masses)

Etymology

From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”).

Synonyms

mafiaMafia

This word in other languages

turba(Español)troupeau(Français)Pöbel(Deutsch)multidão(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mob"?
"mob" is spelled M-O-B. The IPA pronunciation is /mɒb/.
What does "mob" mean?
As a noun, "mob" means: A large or disorderly group of people; especially one bent on riotous or destructive action.
What words are commonly confused with "mob"?
"mob" is commonly confused with "my", "Mr", "MS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mob"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mob" is /mɒb/. 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 "mob"?
From Middle English mob, short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus) (“fickle (crowd)”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mob", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mph#6,813GPS#6,790fur#6,789tin#6,847

What to do next

You've looked up "mob". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mob" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "my". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #6,810 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list