From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrobrob /rɒb $ rɑːb/ ●●○ S3 verb (robbed, robbing) [transitive] 1 SCCto steal money or property from a person, bank etc → steal, burgle They killed four policemen while robbing a bank. A 77-year-old woman was robbed at knifepoint.rob somebody of something They threatened to shoot him and robbed him of all his possessions. ► You say that someone robs a person or place. Do not say that someone robs an object or an amount of money. Use steal: He stole cash and valuables worth $500,000.► see thesaurus at steal2 → rob Peter to pay Paul3 → rob somebody blind4 → I/we was robbed!5 → rob the cradle → rob somebody/something of something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rob• Police are looking for a man who robbed a gas station on Van Ness Avenue.• He got five years in jail for robbing a gas station.• The woman had been robbed and was badly shaken.• They rob die-hard travelers of a work or vacation day.• Two men tried to rob him as he left the restaurant.• The thieves contributed to rob me of my ally, silencing him twice over.• Two men robbed the Central Bank yesterday, escaping with over $1 million.• Their insecurities too often robbed the managers of invaluable support, just when they needed it most.• In addition, the migration from rural areas to the cities has robbed the region of many of its truffle gatherers.• They weight us down, they rob us, they starve us.rob somebody of something• Her first husband had robbed her of her fortune.Origin rob (1200-1300) Old French rober