Link Centre Dictionary

snatch

UK/snæt͡ʃ/ US/ˈsnætʃ/ fairly common informal slang
verb (3) noun (5)

verb

1.

to grasp hastily or eagerly

  • “Before I could stop him the dog snatched the ham bone”
Synonyms
2.

to make grasping motions

  • “the cat snatched at the butterflies”
3.

take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom

  • “The industrialist”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a small fragment

  • “overheard snatches of their conversation”
Synonyms
2.
3.

(law) the unlawful act of capturing and carrying away a person against their will and holding them in false imprisonment

Synonyms
4.

a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted overhead in one rapid motion

5.

the act of catching an object with the hands

  • “Mays made the catch with his back to the plate”
  • “he made a grab for the ball before it landed”
  • “Martin”
  • “;”
  • “s snap and throw was a single motion”
Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • baby snatching
  • cap snatching
  • have one's wig snatched
  • purse snatcher
  • snatch and grab
  • snatch and run
  • snatch block
  • snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
  • snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory
  • snatch loading

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.