robbery

/ˈɹɒbəɹi/

//ˈɹɒbəɹi// noun

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

"robbery" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“robbery” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,493. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,493
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or practice of robbing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-robbery · robbery · English

robbery · rank #7,493 · 9 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,493
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Rico

Nearest frequency peer: Rico (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “robbery”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “robbery” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

robbery vs Robby
57% similar
robbery vs Robert
57% similar
robbery vs rubber
71% similar

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

Key facts for robbery
PropertyValue
Headwordrobbery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹɒbəɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#7,493
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “robbery”

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).robberylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Rico” (#7,492), “rub” (#7,494), “revealing” (#7,491). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “robbery” is #7,493. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around robbery (IPA /ˈɹɒbəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,493 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for robbery, with forms such as "orbbery", "rbobery", and "robberry". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "Robby", "Robert", "rubber", 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 robberie, robry, roberie, from Old French roberie, from the verb rober (“to steal; to pillage”) + -ie. Ultimately from unattested Frankish *raubōn. By surface analysis, rob + -ery. Compare Dutch roverij (“robbery”), Norwegian Bokmål røve… The correct English form is robbery, spelled R-O-B-B-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or practice of robbing.
  2. 2
    The offense of taking or attempting to take the property of another by force or threat of force.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. bank robbery

Etymology

From Middle English robberie, robry, roberie, from Old French roberie, from the verb rober (“to steal; to pillage”) + -ie. Ultimately from unattested Frankish *raubōn. By surface analysis, rob + -ery. Compare Dutch roverij (“robbery”), Norwegian Bokmål røveri (“robbery”), German Räuberei (“robbery, banditry”). Displaced native Old English rēaflāc.

This word in other languages

robo(Español)brigandage(Français)Raub(Deutsch)roubo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orbbery
  • rbobery
  • robberry
  • robberyy
  • robbeyr
  • robbrey
  • robebry
  • robery
  • rrobbery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of robbery - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

orbbery2rbobery2robberry1robberyy1robbeyr2robbrey2robebry2robery1
Edit distance from "robbery"

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 "robbery"?
"robbery" is spelled R-O-B-B-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɒbəɹi/.
What does "robbery" mean?
As a noun, "robbery" means: The act or practice of robbing.
What words are commonly confused with "robbery"?
"robbery" is commonly confused with "Robby", "Robert", "rubber". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "robbery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "robbery" is /ˈɹɒbəɹi/. 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 "robbery"?
From Middle English robberie, robry, roberie, from Old French roberie, from the verb rober (“to steal; to pillage”) + -ie. Ultimately from unattested Frankish *raubōn. By surface analysis, rob + -ery. Compare Dutch roverij (“robbery”), Norwegian B... 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 "robbery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

talents#7,509tuition#7,513mandate#7,472madness#7,471

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

resign9 variantspriced9 variantsmerger9 variantskissing9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list