snatch
/snæt͡ʃ/ verb, noun
Forms snatches snatching snatched
- verb (transitive) To grasp and remove quickly. “He snatched up the phone.”
- verb (intransitive) To attempt to seize something suddenly. “to snatch at a rope”
- verb (transitive) To take or seize hastily, abruptly, or without permission or ceremony. “to snatch a kiss”
- verb (transitive, informal) To steal. “Someone has just snatched my purse!”
- verb (transitive, informal, figurative, by extension) To take (a victory) at the last moment.
- verb (transitive, informal) To do something quickly in the limited time available. “He snatched a sandwich before catching the train.”
- noun A quick grab or catch. “The leftfielder makes a nice snatch to end the inning.”
- noun A short period.
- noun (weightlifting) A competitive weightlifting event in which a barbell is lifted from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement.
- noun A piece of some sound, usually music or conversation. “I heard a snatch of Mozart as I passed the open window.”
- noun (vulgar slang) The vulva.
- noun (aviation) Rapid, uncommanded jerking or oscillation of the ailerons of some aircraft at high Mach numbers, resulting from shock wave formation at transonic speeds.
- noun (dated) A brief period of exertion.
- noun (dated) A catching of the voice.
Synonyms
grab steal abduct abstract appropriate bag bandit bash and grab bone boost burgle burglarize borrow cheat chore commandeer confiscate convert cop cozen bit cunt puss pussy slit twat kidnapping catch snap snatch up
Etymology
From Middle English snacchen, snecchen (“to snap; seize”), from Old English *snæċċan, *sneċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *snakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *snakjaną (“to whiff, sniff, catch wind of; to taste-test, nibble”), related to Proto-Germanic *snakōną (“to breathe, blow, sigh”) and *snakkōną (“to blather, jabber, chatter”).
Cognate with Middle Dutch snacken (“to snap [of a dog]”), Norwegian Nynorsk snaka (“to snatch [of animals]”). Related also to Dutch snakken (“to sob, pant, long for”), Low German snacken (“to chatter”), German schnacken (“to chat”), Danish snakke (“to chat”) and Norwegian snakke (“to chat”). Related to snack.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To take or seize hastily, abruptly, or without permission or ceremony; as, to snatch a loaf or a kiss.
- verb To seize and transport away; to rap. "Snatch me to heaven." Thomson.
- verb To attempt to seize something suddenly; to catch; --often with at; as, to snatch at a rope.
- noun A hasty catching or seizing; a grab; a catching at, or attempt to seize, suddenly.
Etymology [OE. snachen, snechen; akin to D. snakken to gasp, to long (for), to desire. Cf. Snack, n., Sneck.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “snatch”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details