Burglary vs Robbery: Here’s the Difference

These two nouns may refer to the same event, though not necessarily.  

Robbery is more general than burglary; it refers to the whole event during which something is stolen (when something valuable is taken by thieves):

They performed a bank robbery and became rich but went to jail.

During the robbery, the thieves took several guns and a television.

Burglary, in contrast, is a kind of robbery, but more specifically, a very secretive robbery of a home or private building, requiring breaking in, taking something, and leaving again without being seen. If the thief encounters any people, it is already a botched (messed up) burglary, even if they succeed. Also note that English has the words robber and burglar, which have the same difference in meaning:

The burglar cut the wires to the alarm and slipped into the house through a window.

The train robbers took all the passengers’ money and got away.

"Burglary" in a Sentence

Here are more examples of how to use "burglary" in a sentence:

1. I heard that the burglar was finally caught by the police last night; good riddance.
2. Jimmy's house was burglarized last night.
3. The burglars took electronics and some pieces of jewelry, but they left the real treasures behind—my Pokeman cards!
4. Some burglaries are committed during daytime, while some are committed during nighttime.
5. The burglary occurred at 10pm on Wednesday night.
6. Burt had been engaging in a long string of burglaries in the Houston area, before his mother turned him in.
7. A man was found injured in his home, the victim of a burglary gone wrong.
8. Some jurisdictions classify burglary as a violent crime and others classify it as a property crime, depending on the seriousness of the burglary and whether weapons are involved.
9. Erica said that the burglary happened in the middle of the night when she was asleep, and she was .
10. The burglar kept coming back for more items, even once stealing my mother's credit card, which was in the very same room in which she slept. Thank goodness he was caught!

"Robbery" in a Sentence

Here are more examples of how to use "robbery" in a sentence:

1. The King was robbed of his treasure, which was then distrubuted to the poor.
2. I'm a little paranoid about getting robbed in public spaces. I guess I watch too much true crime.
3. Crime rates have seen a decline over the last few decades and the robbery rate is one of the lowest it has ever been.
4. There was a robbery on the corner of 5th and Main, but they have not yet released any details.
5. The robbery was caught on the security camera, but the video quality is poor.
6. In early morning hours of March 09, a robbery occurred at the CVS Pharmacy on Broad and Lombard Streets in Center City.
7. The robber brandished a pistol and ran towards the back alley.
8. In all, there have been nine robberies in the area this week alone.
9. Police are asking for anyone with information about the robberies to come forward.
10. The robbery took place in broad daylight, so the perpetrator should have been easy to spot.
11. When Rob was robbed by two men, he didn't know what to do.
12. This morning, I saw a man getting robbed by another man. After freezing for a few minutes, I came to my senses and called the police.