1
as in throngs
a great number of persons or creatures massed together
a mob of pigeons soon flocked around us after they spied the bread crumbs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in gangs
a group involved in secret or criminal activities
the club owner was accused of having connections with a mob of racketeers
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in masses
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite
political speeches designed to appeal to the mob
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of mobs
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
25 June 2026
The New York Anti-Abolition Riots began as mobs attacked large swaths of New York City, targeting homes, churches and businesses of Black residents and known abolitionists.
—
USA Today,
24 June 2026
Unruly mobs have protested outside and even tried to set fire to some hotels housing asylum seekers.
—
ABC News,
21 June 2026
Pro-slavery mobs sacked and burned Kansas towns.
—
Vivian Yee,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
Protests were announced in Northern Ireland’s capital early in the day, with police urging participants to be calm, but Tuesday night saw mobs block streets, set fire to vehicles, and clash with police.
—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
In its stead, Johnson backed a policy that essentially codified powers police already had to disperse mobs once they’re formed.
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The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
The city belongs to law-abiding residents, not roaming mobs looking to make a name for themselves or to contribute to the chaos or violence, and to get social media attention.
—
Peter D'abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
The public scares me, mobs scare me.
—
Liz McNeil,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Noun
In 2008, xenophobic riots left more than 60 dead — some burned alive by mobs — and tens of thousands displaced.
—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
25 June 2026
The New York Anti-Abolition Riots began as mobs attacked large swaths of New York City, targeting homes, churches and businesses of Black residents and known abolitionists.
—
USA Today,
24 June 2026
Unruly mobs have protested outside and even tried to set fire to some hotels housing asylum seekers.
—
ABC News,
21 June 2026
Pro-slavery mobs sacked and burned Kansas towns.
—
Vivian Yee,
New York Times,
20 June 2026
Protests were announced in Northern Ireland’s capital early in the day, with police urging participants to be calm, but Tuesday night saw mobs block streets, set fire to vehicles, and clash with police.
—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
9 June 2026
In its stead, Johnson backed a policy that essentially codified powers police already had to disperse mobs once they’re formed.
—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
The city belongs to law-abiding residents, not roaming mobs looking to make a name for themselves or to contribute to the chaos or violence, and to get social media attention.
—
Peter D'abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
The public scares me, mobs scare me.
—
Liz McNeil,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Verb
Toward Tuanzebe and the rest of the team that mobs him.
—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mobs
Noun
-
With their billowing sails, teakwood decks and mazes of ropes and rigging, ships like Eagle draw throngs of visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the past.
-
The throngs of teenagers doing back flips into the Canal Saint-Martin and playing soccer in the street set the mood for the week.
Noun
-
The initiative is intended to target transnational criminal organizations, foreign gangs, human trafficking networks and violent criminal aliens operating in the United States.
-
Prosecutors say the ring operated between 2020 and 2026, transporting dozens of firearms from Georgia to Illinois and Indiana to be distributed to members gangs including the Black Disciples, Conservative Vice Lords and Mickey Cobras.
Noun
-
Fourth of July celebrations in Newport Beach, California, a coastal city in Orange County, led to over 400 arrests after large crowds became disorderly, according to police.
-
Iran’s semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) wrote about the 1989 funeral earlier this week, describing how the enormous crowds exceeded the numbers expected by authorities.
Noun
-
Their strategy focuses on low-cost drone swarms, maximizing pilot effectiveness.
-
Every wedding, every cherry blossom season in Japan, every birth, reactor accidents too, swarms of insects, kittens playing with woolen balls, people disfigured by war, palm trees at sunset—five billion photos a day.
Noun
-
Lucky Number Slevin, a movie about mistaken identity, rival crime syndicates, and assassins, was, for some reason (Josh Hartnett), one of the comfort movies of my childhood.
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Alongside that, South Africa’s police force has been embroiled in scandal, accused of corruption and collusion with criminal syndicates.
Noun
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But that one course, Sugarloaf Golf Club, is also one of the few publics in the Northeast to have made Golf Digest’s Top 100, a Robert Trent Jones II classic with drop dead views on nearly every hole, carved from a gorgeous wilderness teeming with moose and other wildlife.
-
Museums are sincerely trying to connect with their publics (even if these are often cast as consumers), and the horizon for that experiment is almost limitless.
Noun
-
With plenty of nervous energy, hordes of United States fans packed into KC Live!
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And now, Swift’s fans are set to descend on the city, accompanied by hordes of media who until recently had little to no concrete information about the hush-hush affair.
Noun
-
Forbes found a record 54 multi-generational clans on our second-ever ranking of America’s Decabillionaire Families, up from 45 on that first 2024 list.
-
Warrior Cats is based on Erin Hunter’s feline book series that follows the adventures and drama of multiple clans of feral cats.
Cite this Entry
“Mobs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mobs. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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