What does mugging mean?
Mugging names a violent theft or assault in which a person is threatened, and often beaten, so that money or other valuables can be taken. The word most often refers to an attack in a public place, but it can also describe threatening or intimidating someone in order to rob them. “Mugging” is sometimes used figuratively for overworking or pressuring someone, especially in informal workplace contexts. Unlike the broader term “robbery,” mugging specifically suggests the presence of force, intimidation, or physical assault. It is consequently a useful word when the manner of the theft is important: a mugging is not merely a theft but an attack carried out with the aim of obtaining property. The related verb “mug” can describe the act itself, while “mugger” denotes the person who commits it.
An assault or robbery in which a person is threatened and sometimes beaten so that money or valuables can be taken.
"The witnesses described a brutal mugging near the market."
Commonly used for a violent street robbery, though it can also refer to a violent attack elsewhere.
To threaten or assault someone in order to steal from them.
"Two men mugged a tourist near the train station."
The verb is often transitive, with the victim as its object: “They mugged him.”
To work someone excessively hard.
"The manager mugged the junior staff with repeated late shifts."
This is an informal, figurative use and is less common than the sense of committing a violent robbery.
The plural is used for individual acts of violent robbery or assault.
"Several muggings were reported near the station over the weekend."
From the street robber's cant of calling a victim a “mug,” the word grew into one of the clearest names for violent theft in the street.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mugging come from?
The verb “mug,” in the sense of threatening or robbing someone, developed in the 19th century from criminal slang for attacking or victimizing a person. The noun “mugging” subsequently developed from that verb. In this criminal sense, “mug” is separate from the familiar noun meaning a large drinking vessel; although the words are sometimes connected in popular accounts, the vocabulary history of the verb is uncertain and is best not treated as a straightforward semantic development from the cup.
Related word forms
How mugging is actually used
In its primary sense, mugging is used in Britain, the United States, and other English-speaking regions. The meaning “to work someone excessively hard” is informal and is usually more figurative than the sense involving robbery.
Easily confused with mugging
Mugging involves an assault or threat to obtain property, whereas mugging can also informally mean working someone excessively hard.