snarf
/snɑː(ɹ)f/ verb
Forms snarfs snarfing snarfed
- verb (transitive, slang) To eat or consume greedily. “He snarfed a whole bag of chips in a couple of minutes!”
- verb (transitive, slang) To take something by dubious means, but without the connotations of stealing; to take something without regard to etiquette. “I snarfed a bunch of freebies from the vendor's booth when he wasn't looking.”
- verb (transitive, slang, computing) To slurp (computing slang sense); to load in entirely; to copy as a whole. “I snarfed the whole database into my program.”
- verb (transitive, slang, computing, by extension) To fetch (in general).
Synonyms
pilfer cabbage purloin pinch abstract swipe hook sneak filch nobble lift
Etymology
Probably of imitative origin. Alternatively, perhaps a blend of snack + scarf or snort + scarf. First attested in 1963.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “snarf”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details