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rob somebody

AliBadass

Senior Member
persian
According to the dictionary Longmanβ–Ί You say that someone robs a person or place. Do not say that someone robs an object or an amount of money. Use steal.

I got a little confused now. Rob somebody means ''to steal something from that person'' or ''to kidnap the person''?


Rob somebody means ''to steal something from that person''? - or from a place.
Rob somebody means ''to kidnap the person''? - No, never.
He robbed the bank [of its money.] -> He stole the money from the bank.
He robbed the woman [of her purse] - He stole the purse from the woman.

You can say, "He robbed the parents of their child." but this is usually figurative to mean "He killed the child and removed the company of the child from the parents."
You can say, "He stole the child from its parents." but (i) this does not usually mean the same as "He kidnapped the child." To kidnap" usually means "to abduct [usually a person] with the intention of extorting money." (ii) it can mean "to entice away."
He robbed the bank [of its money.] -> He stole the money from the bank.
He robbed the woman [of her purse] - He stole the purse from the woman.

You can say, "He robbed the parents of their child." but this is usually figurative to mean "He killed the child and removed the company of the child from the parents."
You can say, "He stole the child from its parents." but (i) this does not usually mean the same as "He kidnapped the child." To kidnap" usually means "to abduct [usually a person] with the intention of extorting money." (ii) it can mean "to entice away."
To my mind, there's a difference between robbing and stealing. Robbing usually inovlves force or violence, but stealing is always sneaking, done secretly.

Am I mistaken?

Many thanks! πŸ‘ Smile :)
Yes, you're mistaken. An online scammer could "rob" someone of their life savings without using force or violence. Someone on the street could push you over (using force or violence) and "steal" your phone.
Similarly (no force or violence used):
Worry is a thief. It will rob you of your sleep at night. It will rob you of your joy, rob you of your energy. (facebook)
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Yes, you're mistaken. An online scammer could "rob" someone of their life savings without using force or violence. Someone on the street could push you over (using force or violence) and "steal" your phone.
Similarly (no force or violence used):
Thank you. So there's no difference in meaning, and only the grammatical structure required with either verb differs?
There is a difference under the law between the act of taking something by force or violence or intimidation and the act of taking something by stealth. But the verbs "steal" and "rob", as they are used informally outside of legalistic contexts, are often used interchangeably, but not always, especially in figurative senses.

For example, we would be far more likely to say that "worry can rob you of sleep" than "worry can steal sleep from you". Both would be understood. But the collocation is "rob" and "sleep" not "steal" and "sleep".

Or the converse: "I'm going to steal forty winks" (i.e. take a quick nap) not "rob forty winks".

P.S. If I had to boil the difference down, when someone is "robbed" they feel the transgression and the loss immediately. They have been deprived of something. When something is "stolen" from someone, they might not even be aware of it for a long while.
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So there's no difference in meaning
It isn't that simple. In England, for example, "theft", "steal", "rob" and "robbery" are (among other things) legally defined crimes, with distinct definitions. (If I remember correctly, "theft" = "stealing" = dishonest appropriation; "robbery" = theft with violence or threat of violence.)
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A really classic everyday way of looking at it (as Blint said, the legal system has very specific definitions it uses) is that you steal from someone when the person is not there and you rob them when you take it from them directly. When you come home to your house and find it was broken into and your money is gone, that was theft. Someone stole your money. On the other hand, when the person confronts you on the street and forces you to give them your money, maybe by threatening you with a weapon, that's commonly referred to as a robbery, not a theft. The normal collocation would be they robbed you, not they stole from you.

If you parked your car and came back to it later and it wasn't there, someone stole your car. If they tried to take your car from you while you were in it, we have a special word for that called carjacking, derived from hijacking. Sometimes they pull you out of the car and take the car and sometimes they jump in the car and don't give you a chance to get out of the car. I would tend to consider that more robbery than theft.

As the examples above have shown though, there aren't necessarily precise dividers between the two ideas and the two words in every case. There is some overlap and there are some gray areas.
When you come home to your house and find it was broken into and your money is gone, that was theft.
That was burglary, because an impediment – e.g. a lock – needed overcoming.
That was burglary, because an impediment – e.g. a lock – needed overcoming.
In English law, no lock is needed for burglary, only trespass. Sometimes shops tell shoplifters that they no longer have permission to enter the shop: then entry into the shop is a trespass, and shoplifting within it becomes a burglary.

Trespass is normally not a crime, but the civil wrong of entering someone's property without permission. The penalty is that you have to pay for anything you damage.

(All of this information is based on my legal studies MANY years ago.)
That was burglary, because an impediment – e.g. a lock – needed overcoming.
In American English, the verb "to burgle" sounds very funny and we avoid it. "Burglarized" is not much better. If a burglar breaks into our house, we still say we were robbed and our things were stolen.
In American English, the verb "to burgle" sounds very funny and we avoid it. "Burglarized" is not much better. If a burglar breaks into our house, we still say we were robbed and our things were stolen.
Is "burgle" funny-sounding because it sounds like "burger"?
He robbed the bank [of its money.] -> He stole the money from the bank.
He robbed the woman [of her purse] - He stole the purse from the woman.

You can say, "He robbed the parents of their child." but this is usually figurative to mean "He killed the child and removed the company of the child from the parents."
You can say, "He stole the child from its parents." but (i) this does not usually mean the same as "He kidnapped the child." To kidnap" usually means "to abduct [usually a person] with the intention of extorting money." (ii) it can mean "to entice away."
Informally, can't we say "He robbed the woman's purse"?
Informally, can't we say "He robbed the woman's purse"?
NB. Purse: AE = a handbag. BE = a pouch or wallet (mainly used by women) for carrying coins and notes.

That use sounds awkward to me, but it is possible. This would be used to express the idea that he took money from the woman's purse [usually] while she was not present.
NB. Purse: AE = a handbag. BE = a pouch or wallet (mainly used by women) for carrying coins and notes.

That use sounds awkward to me, but it is possible. This would be used to express the idea that he took money from the woman's purse [usually] while she was not present.
Thank you, I asked because I often hear non-natives use that pattern (e.g. rob someone's belongings) but that conflicts with Longman's advice in post no.1. πŸ‘ Smile :)
I wouldn't say somebody robbed somebody's purse.

- Hey, purse! Give me all your money or I'll shoot you.

He could take it or steal it or steal the money from it.
A more formal way to phrase it is "he robbed somebody of their purse" if he took it from the person directly, against their will.
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