To Rob
To Steal By Force
transitive verb, godan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means rob so the verb vocab version is to rob.
This reading is the same as the one you learned with the kanji.
母親は、少女に、悪霊が犬の命を奪ったのだと教えました。
Her mother told her that their puppy's life was stolen by an evil spirit.