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.
It provides huge ratings to networks that are generally suffering from viewership declines as traditional media teeters, cord-cutting continues and subscription streaming services nab a growing amount of U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Retailers use facial recognition technology to more easily nab shoplifters.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 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
In L.A., the company said, its technology had been deployed to nab porch pirates and car thieves, not to mention played a role in solving a “high-profile crime involving stolen weapons from a politician’s home.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026
“Probably a big school of mackerel. If I were looking for bait today, that would be great, but we want to nab bigger stuff.”
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
