Basic Details
Word: Robber
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Someone who steals from a person or a place, often using force or threats.
Synonyms: thief, bandit, burglar
How to Spell Robber
Syllables: rob - ber
Tricky part: Rob has a short o, so the b doubles before -er: robber, robbed, robbing. A single b would make the o say its name.
Watch out for: rober, robbar, robbor
Memory tip: Think of a robber running off with two bags, one in each hand: two b's in the middle of the word.
Idioms and Phrases
- cops and robbers: a children's chase game in which some players are police and others are thieves Example: "During the lunch break we played cops and robbers around the banyan tree."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The robber was caught on camera outside the jewellery shop.
Example 2: In old stories, robbers hid in forests and waited for travellers.
Example 3: The bank robber left his phone behind, which made the police's job easy.
Fun Fact
The coconut crab is also called the robber crab, because it is said to carry off shiny objects such as pots and spoons. It is the biggest of all land animals with jointed legs and a hard outer shell.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. smugler 2. burgler 3. robber 4. swindeler
a) someone who cheats people out of money
b) someone who secretly takes goods into a country
c) someone who breaks into buildings to steal
d) someone who steals, often by force
Show answer
d) someone who steals, often by force. Burglar ends in ar, smuggler has two g's and swindler has no e between the d and the l, so robber is the correct one.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The robbar escaped through the back window of the shop, but a sharp-eyed security guard noted down the number plate of his motorbike.
a) window
b) motorbike
c) security
d) robbar
Show answer
d) robbar. A person who robs is a robb-er; the ending is the same as in farmer and teacher.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The masked rrbboe ran off with the cash box before the shopkeeper could shout.
a) robber
b) robbed
c) barber
d) rubber
Show answer
a) robber. The letters include an o and an e but no u, so rubber is out, and robbed would need a d.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A robber is different from a burglar because a robber ____.
a) sells stolen goods in markets
b) only breaks into empty houses
c) always works alone in villages
d) takes things directly from people
Show answer
d) takes things directly from people
2. The crime that a robber commits is called ____.
a) bribery
b) burglary
c) forgery
d) robbery
Show answer
d) robbery
