nab
verb (used with object)
to arrest or capture.
nab
1 American
[nab]
/ næb /
verb (used with object)
Informal.
nabs,
present (3rd person singular)
nabbed,
past participle, past
nabbing
present participle
-
to arrest or capture.
-
to catch or seize, especially suddenly.
-
to snatch or steal.
NAB
2
American
nab
British
/ næb /
verb
-
to arrest
-
to catch (someone) in wrongdoing
-
to seize suddenly; snatch
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nabsimple
-
nabssimple
-
have nabbedperfect
-
has nabbedperfect
-
am nabbingprogressive
-
are nabbingprogressive
-
is nabbingprogressive
-
have been nabbingperfect progressive
-
has been nabbingperfect progressive
Past
-
nabbedsimple
-
had nabbedperfect
-
was nabbingprogressive
-
were nabbingprogressive
-
had been nabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nab
1675–85; earlier nap; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Danish nappe, Norwegian, Swedish nappa to snatch
Explanation
When you nab someone, you catch the person in the act of doing something wrong. A police officer, for example, might say that she loves to nab shoplifters. You nab when you apprehend a bad guy, or when you suddenly grab something: "Hey, you can't just nab a slice of pizza off my plate!" It's most common to use nab when a criminal is caught, as when the FBI nabs a suspected terrorist or an officer nabs a would-be graffiti artist. Nab probably came from an earlier word, nap, "to seize or catch," which is now obsolete except in the word kidnap.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But, with six minutes remaining, a moment of Maradona magic settled the final - the forward's superb first-time half-volleyed through ball sent Jorge Burruchaga racing away to nab the winner.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The series arrived late in the season, so only its first seven episodes qualify for the 2026 awards cycle, but that was enough for Rhys is nab a nod.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Officers don’t believe Keys was hiding out in the store to be the first to nab a set of the Pokémon cards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
That enthusiasm is helping upstarts nab much higher valuations than they could get on the private markets, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Kids scrambled, trying to nab the best bench or to sit with their new friends.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
The issue for JPY remains that fundamentals still point to weakness—deeply negative real yields, slow BoJ normalization and continuing JGB purchases—but thin U.S. holiday liquidity raises the tactical risk of intervention, NAB adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
They observe that the average multiple across the big four banks of Commonwealth, Westpac, NAB and ANZ fell to 18.5X 12-month forward earnings by the end of May, down from 19.2X a month earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Westpac and NAB look most vulnerable in the near term, they add.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Still, markets will need to quickly see evidence that the Strait of Hormuz is reopening to traffic if those gains are to be sustained, says Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at NAB.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Any AB and NAB naturals out there who want to share their regimen?
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
See also: Palantir’s stock nabs another upgrade, with its valuation now less of a ‘struggle’
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 16, 2026
Erivo has won rave reviews for her reprised role, so if she nabs a best Oscar win come March, and the coveted EGOT, it will be the cherry on the icing on the cake.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
The Border Patrol, which nabs people who try to sneak in between official crossings, said its arrests along the U.S.-Mexico boundary dropped from nearly 184,000 in April to fewer than 100,000 in June.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
Where most graphers would be lucky to get more than one signature from a star at a time, Radio Man regularly nabs dozens, sometimes hundreds.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2023
Everybody plays it, loves it and follows the games on the radio and nabs every chance to go and see it.”
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
Lockheed Martin LMT -2.39%decrease; down pointing triangle nabbed a $35.35 billion contract from the U.S. government to quadruple production of its high-end Thaad missile-defense systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Yamamoto swung around and tossed the ball to Alex Freeland, who nabbed Marsh’s hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
The law enforcement push, which analysts have criticised as window-dressing, nabbed its biggest player with the January arrest of Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, who was extradited to China.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
The U.S.-indicted Venezuelan government contractor and negotiator was on his way to Tehran in 2020 when nabbed by law enforcement in the island nation of Cape Verde.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
It was much more likely a few kids had nabbed them, to get the alarms going and the doors open.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
After an indifferent first half, along with the rest of his team, he made a good start to the second half, nabbing two turnovers in quick succession.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
"The win, that's the most important thing," said James, who received a standing ovation when he was subbed out for son Bronny James, seconds after nabbing his 10th rebound.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Currently 60% of the bank’s employees globally are active on the platform, nabbing gigs they can spend up to eight hours on within their regular workweek.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
Federal prosecutors say that by quickly nabbing popular early morning tee times almost immediately after they were available to the public, the brothers “created a monopoly” of Southern California golf courses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
When Will didn’t answer, Ben helped himself, nabbing a handful of fries from Will’s tray.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
