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