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mob (mŏb)
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n.
1. A large and often disorderly crowd. See Synonyms at crowd1.
2. The mass of common people; the populace.
3. often Mob Informal A criminal organization, especially the Mafia operating in the United States.
4. An indiscriminate or loosely associated group of things: a mob of boats in the harbor.
5. Australian A flock or herd of animals.
tr.v. mobbed, mob·bing, mobs
1. To crowd around and jostle or annoy, especially in anger or excessive enthusiasm: Eager fans mobbed the popular singer.
2. To crowd into: Visitors mobbed the fairgrounds.

[Short for mobile, from Latin mōbile (vulgus), fickle (crowd), neuter of mōbilis; see MOBILE.]

mobbish adj.
mobbish·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.