Flash Mob Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

flash mob American [flash-mob] / ˈflæʃˌmɒb / Or flashmob

noun

1. a group of people mobilized by social media to meet in a public place for the purpose of doing an unusual or entertaining activity of short duration.

   The flash mob brought wide smiles to the faces of commuters waiting for their train.

2. a group of teenagers who have contacted each other by cell phone and social media and gather in an area to trash it or to mug and beat passersby.

verb (used with object)

flash mobbed, flash mobbing

1. to crowd around (a place or person) in a flash mob.

   Dancing teenagers flash mobbed the store.

2. to commit violence against (a place or person) in a flash mob.

   The mayor imposed a curfew on all males under the age of 18 after two blocks of downtown Philadelphia were flash mobbed and severely damaged.

verb (used without object)

flash mobbed, flash mobbing

1. to organize or take part in a flash mob.

flash mob British

noun

1. a group of people coordinated by email and social media to meet to perform some predetermined action at a particular place and time and then disperse quickly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• flash mobber noun
• flash mobster noun
• flashmobbing noun

Etymology

Origin of flash mob

2000–05; flash in the sense of ‘quick'; on the model of smart mob

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cases have been brought over private Facebook messages, flash mob protests scattering anti-election leaflets, and vandalism of candidate placards.

From Barron's

The song has also been a recent hit on social media, after a flash mob performance of the song by French pianist Julien Cohen and a group of 30 musicians he assembled brought a Parisian street to a standstill – since gaining more than 11 million likes on Instagram.

From BBC

In June 2019, Europark Idroscalo Milano unveiled the "restored" statue after a Jackson-themed flash mob.

From BBC

Castellanos said Quintana’s account would post Instagram stories with “symbols or abbreviations which coincided with intersections allowing for all to respond in a flash mob fashion and overwhelm the location.”

From Los Angeles Times

We went trick-or-treating on Eagle Rock’s Hill Drive and stopped to watch a flash mob perform “Thriller.”

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.