mugging 1 of 2

noun

as in burglary

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mugging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of mug
1
as in grimacing
to distort one's face every time their picture was snapped, both children mugged by sticking out their tongues or scrunching up their faces

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in photographing
to take a photograph of mugging captured criminals for the police records

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mugging
Noun
Trump’s Arch will commemorate his overnight mugging of Venezuela and his colossal misadventures in Iran. — Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026 It’s been 14 years since that mugging, and I haven’t been robbed since, despite traveling to more than 60 countries and moving to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — Joel Balsam, Travel + Leisure, 20 Sep. 2026 But the foot is off the gas in the first four episodes of Season 2, and all the mugging in the world can’t make up the difference. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026 The young actors are appealing, led by Lilah Pate and Chabley Ponce; there’s a sweetness and naturalness to their cameraderie that stands out amid so much mugging and gives the film a lift. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026 Is a 1-game suspension enough for the mugging? — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 June 2026 While investigating this incident, CPD also learned that a shot was fired during a mugging, also in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 7 June 2026 There’s a whole plotline about Dzanielle’s desire to get a status dog walker named Yuki, who costs $1,500 a week, and another around a Birkin mugging. — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026 An immigrant delivery man bashed unconscious during a botched four-on-one Manhattan mugging died of his injuries months later, cops said Sunday. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2026
Verb
Mean-mugging white classmates who, in turn, were sheepish and chastened. — Anne Haley, Time, 11 Aug. 2026 And yet, Simon Farnaby is perhaps most recognizable for mugging his rather expressive and jovial face, usually beneath a crop of untamed curly hair, across a series of scene-stealing comic cameos. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 These are pictures of everyone competing at the tournament, wearing their nation’s kit, usually posing pretty seriously, but occasionally mugging for the camera. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 12 June 2026 Anticipating that someone might tip off TMZ about his presence at Disney World, the Republican Florida senator Rick Scott posted a photo of himself mugging for the camera there. — Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026 Noem seemed to relish cruelty, and treated her job like a costume party, constantly mugging for cameras with guns and faux toughness as if the dismantling of lives and imprisoning even children was a game. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026 Toddler Adalina India, daughter of second baseman Jonathan India and his wife Daniella, scored a home run in the Cute Kiddie Pics division, mugging like a pro on the field for her mom. — Lisa Gutierrez march 31, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026 Denver’s 33-year-old shooting guard reveled in the moment, mean-mugging his way to the huddle. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026 For most of the show, Bad Bunny had been mugging merrily to the camera, flaring his eyes and making hammy gestures to illustrate his words. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mugging
  1. burglary
  2. grimacing
  3. photographing
  4. break-in
  5. staring
  6. holdup
Noun
  • Officials said Wooten is charged with burglary, resisting arrest and obstructing an officer.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • House Bill 2856, introduced by Shaffer, requires consideration of prior violent convictions, burglary convictions, other pending criminal charges and protection from abuse orders when a decision is made regarding bail.
    — Josh Taylor, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of burglary
Verb
  • And there was a frenzy as one man, grimacing and sweating, lurched along pulling a truck with a rope.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Judge could be seen grimacing on a check swing during the third inning and hobbling in the outfield during the fifth inning.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of grimacing
Verb
  • Then be sure to check out our guide to photographing stars, the moon and the Milky Way with nothing but your smartphone camera.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Petrie kept meticulous notes, recording and photographing all the graves, and brought in medical doctors to analyze human remains, primarily the crania.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of photographing
Noun
  • The United States Postal Inspection Service in investigating the break-in.
    — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • After her death, counterterrorism police reopened a probe into an alleged firebomb and break-in attempt at Farage’s south London home in April 2025.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of break-in
Verb
  • Before ChatGPT came on the scene, chipmakers were staring at a post-COVID chip glut.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Taken roughly two decades after her prison ordeal, the image reveals a still formidable figure, a woman unbroken by countless trials, staring straight into the camera’s lens.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of staring
Noun
  • Service learned the holdup was due to the site in question also being considered a homeless encampment.
    — Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Lee was convicted of fatally shooting Jimmy Ellis, 53, and Elaine Thompson, 44, during a pawn shop holdup in 1998 in Orrville, about 60 miles west of Montgomery.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of holdup

Browse Nearby Words

mugginess
mugging
muggings
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Cite this Entry

“Mugging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mugging. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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