I. ˈgrab, -aa(ə)b verb
( grabbed ; grabbed ; grabbing ; grabs )
Etymology: obsolete Dutch or Low German grabben, from Middle Dutch & Middle Low German, respectively; akin to Old English grǣppian to seize, Middle English graspen to grasp, German grapsen to seize, grasp, Swedish grabba, Old Norse grāpa to snatch, Sanskrit gṛbhṇāti, gṛhṇāti he seizes
transitive verb
1.
a. : to take or take hold of by a sudden motion or grasp : seize , clutch
b. : capture , restrain , arrest
2. : to get or appropriate to oneself unscrupulously
grab public lands
managed to grab three or four millions of money selling bad whiskey or forestalling the wheat harvest and selling it at three times its cost — G.B.Shaw
or with a complete unconcern for another's rights or desires
spend all its energy grabbing world markets — Time
3. : to get hold of, take, or avail oneself of with dispatch or haste
grabbed a driver and cleanly smacked a drive 225 yards — Time
drove home, grabbed a bath, a shave, clean linen and city clothes — H.A.Callahan
after grabbing a bite of food he will have to leave — Philip Hamburger
intransitive verb
1. : to make a grab : snatch — usually used with at
2. of a horse : overreach
3. of an automobile clutch or brake : to engage with abnormal abruptness causing a jolt
4. : to impede or otherwise affect as if grabbing or momentarily holding
concussions were grabbing at his plane steadily — Ira Wolfert
Synonyms: see take
•
- grab hold of
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the act of grabbing: as
(1) : a sudden grasp or attempt to grasp
the child made a grab for the candy bar
(2) : an appropriating of something or an attempt to appropriate by unscrupulous methods
a grab for power — Frontier
the grab for offshore oil rights
b. : something grabbed
2. : a device for clutching an object (as for hauling or hoisting): as
a. : any of various implements for gripping and withdrawing (as a drill or broken cable) from a borehole or well
b. : clamshell 2a
c. : skidding hooks
•
- up for grabs
III. adjective
1. : intended to be grabbed or taken hold of (as for steadying oneself)
a grab rail by the door of the bus to assist passengers in getting on or alighting
2. : taken or to be taken at random
a grab sample
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Arabic ghurāb, literally, raven
: an oriental coasting ship of light draft and broad beam and square raking stern, sharp bow with long overhang, lateen sails, and usually two masts
V. transitive verb
: to seize the attention of : impress : strike
the technique of grabbing an audience — Pauline Kael