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The act of exculpating from alleged fault or crime; that which exculpates; excuse. These robbers, however, were men who might have made out a strong case in exculpation of themselves. Southey.

ness in the earth. Jer. ix. 24. The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery. Ezek. xxii. 29.

A highwayman or robber on foot.

thority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band; a pillager; a buccaneer; a sea robber. Bacon.

Robbery; plunder; a pillaging.

One who robs on the public road; a highway robber.

other insects, often larger than themselves, and suck their blood. Called also hawk fly, robber fly. -- To stir up a hornet's nest, to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics. [Colloq.]

Drops of some drug put in one's drink to stupefy him for purpose of robbery, etc. [Slang, U. S.]

A robber; a pirate; hence, loosely, a rogue or rascal.

ense (Law), an offense of a greater degree which contains a lesser offense, as murder and robbery include assault. -- Major premise (Logic), that premise of a syllogism which contains the major term. -- Major scale (Mus.), the natural diatonic scale, which has semitones between the third and fourth, and seventh and f…

Shak. Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now, Barabbas was a robber. John xviii. 40. The other great and undoing mischief which befalls men is, by their being misrepresented. Now, by calling evil good, a man is misrepresented to others in the way of slander. South. Now and again, now and th…

A robber that infests the road on foot; a highwayman; -- usually called a footpad. Gay. Byron.

of person or property to injury, loss, or destruction. In perils of waters, in perils of robbers. 2 Cor. xi. 26. Adventure hard With peril great achieved. Milton. At, or On, one's peril, with risk or danger to one; at the hazard of. "On thy soul's peril." Shak.

o rob; to plunder; to pillage; to peel. See Peel, to plunder. [Obs.] Spenser. Pillers and robbers were come in to the field to pill and to rob. Sir T. Malroy.

The act of pillaging; robbery. Shak.

Robbery on the high seas; the taking of property from others on the open sea by open violence; without lawful authority, and with intent to steal; -- a crime answering to robbery on land.

A robber on the high seas; one who by open violence takes the property of another on the high seas; especially, one who makes it his business to cruise for robbery or plunder; a freebooter on the seas; also, one who steals in a harbor.

The act of plundering or pillaging; robbery. See Syn. of Pillage. Inroads and plunders of the Saracens. Sir T. North.

nd revolve in the mind, beforehand; to contrive and design previously; as, to premeditate robbery. With words premeditated thus he said. Dryden.

ent or inheritance, namely, by one's own act or agreement. Blackstone. Purchase criminal, robbery. [Obs.] Spenser. -- Purchase money, the money paid, or contracted to be paid, for anything bought. Berkeley. -- Worth, or At, [so many] years' purchase, a phrase by which the value or cost of a thing is expressed in the…