armed robbery
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armed robbery
A criminal offense in which someone's property is taken by force or by threatening force.
Die Polizei untersucht den Raubüberfall auf die Bank von gestern Abend.
The police are investigating last night's armed robbery of the bank.
The word is made up of 'der Raub' (robbery) and 'der Überfall' (attack). So it literally describes an attack in which something is stolen by force.
Der Raubüberfall dauerte nur wenige Minuten.
The armed robbery lasted only a few minutes.
To name the target of the robbery, you use the preposition 'auf' followed by the accusative.
Die Nachrichten berichteten über einen Raubüberfall auf ein Postamt.
The news reported on an armed robbery of a post office.
In connection with an armed robbery, the verbs 'begehen' (to commit) or 'verüben' (to perpetrate) are often used. A person can also 'Opfer eines Raubüberfalls werden' (become the victim of an armed robbery).
Die Täter, die den Raubüberfall begangen haben, sind noch flüchtig.
The perpetrators who committed the armed robbery are still at large.
robbery / attack
An Überfall is a sudden, violent attack and can end without anything actually being stolen. In a Raubüberfall, by contrast, property is taken by force or the threat of force. When the taking of property is certain, Raubüberfall is more precise.
Bei dem Raubüberfall schlugen die Täter den Wachmann und nahmen das Geld mit.
During the robbery, the perpetrators beat the guard and took the money.
Bei dem Überfall schlugen die Täter den Wachmann, nahmen aber nichts mit.
During the attack, the perpetrators beat the guard but took nothing.
