[grab] vb grabbed ; grab.bing [obs. D or LG grabben] vt (ca. 1581) 1: to take or seize by or as if by a sudden motion or grasp "~ up an ax" "grabbed the opportunity" "~ attention"
2: to obtain unscrupulously "~ public lands"
3: to take hastily "~ a bite to eat" "~ a cab"
4. a: to seize the attention of "the technique of grabbing an audience --Pauline Kael" b: to impress favorably and deeply ~ vi: to make a grab syn see take -- grab.ber n
[2]grab adj (1608) 1: intended to be grabbed "a ~ rail"
2: taken at random "~ samples of rocks" [3]grab n (1777) 1 a: something grabbed b: a sudden snatch c: an unlawful or unscrupulous seizure
2. chiefly Brit a: a device for clutching an object b: clamshell -- up for grabs : available for anyone to take, win, or settle