nab
verb (used with object)
to arrest or capture.
nab
1 American
[nab]
/ næb /
verb (used with object)
Informal.
nabbed,
nabbing
-
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
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
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
Department of Transportation has deployed such cameras to nab motorists who park in bus lanes.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026
The undercover officers donned masks depicting Captain America, Batman and Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, among others, to nab a pair in the act, Brazil's Civil Police said.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
Talents for origami and dog-training and computer-repair and whistling, and dozens of others he’d managed to nab over the years.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
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.
