SNATCH


Meaning of SNATCH in English

I. ˈsnach verb

( -ed/-ing/-es )

Etymology: Middle English snacchen, snecchen; akin to Middle Dutch snacken to snap at, bite, chatter, Middle Low German & Middle High German snacken to chatter, gossip, Old Norse snaka to sniff around, Norwegian snake to sniff around, snap at with the teeth

intransitive verb

1. obsolete : to give a sudden snap (as in anger or attack) : make a snappish attack

2. : to attempt to seize something suddenly by or as if by snapping : catch at something — often used with at

snatch at a rope

transitive verb

1. : to take or grasp abruptly or hastily : seize (something) hurriedly or in passing

snatch a pen

snatched the first opportunity

snatching a glance at his friend

often : to seize or grab suddenly without permission, ceremony, due process, or legal or moral right : steal, win, or otherwise gain irregularly when catching another unawares

snatch a kiss

snatching victory from defeat

2.

a. : to remove with suddenness (as by pulling, tearing, concealing, rescuing) — often used with away or off

snatch off his burning clothes

b. : to remove by death

snatched from the bosom of his family

3. : to insert (a rope) in a snatch block

4. : to catch (a fish) by intentionally hooking the body rather than the mouth

Synonyms: see take

- snatch one bald-headed

II. noun

( -es )

Etymology: Middle English snacche, from snecchen, snacchen, v.

1. obsolete : trap , snare

2. : a snatching at or of something : a quick catching or grabbing: as

a. : a lift in which the weight is raised from the floor to the overhead position in one rapid motion — compare clean and jerk , press

b. slang

(1) : kidnapping

(2) : a demand for something (as money) — used chiefly in put the snatch on

put the snatch on him for a cut of the take

3. : a snatched opportunity or period of time : an occasional period (as a moment or hour)

sleep only in snatches

work by snatches

4. : something (as a short period, spell, or stint, an excerpt from a song, a few bars of a melody, a fleeting glimpse, a disconnected portion of a story, a snack) as brief, fragmentary, or hurried as if snatched or done in snatched time

a snatch of spring in January

sing snatches of old tunes

you may have heard snatches of the story

5. obsolete : something (as a way of speaking or an argument) with a catch

6.

a. : snatch block

b. : snatch hook

7.

a. : vagina — usually considered vulgar

b. : sexual intercourse — usually considered vulgar

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.