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.
In Hannah Tinti’s novel, which is set in 19th-century New England, Ren is a budding thief—pilfering food, shoelaces, buttons—when a young man named Benjamin Nab shows up.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
Nab one of those stars early enough — say, before their next superhero film comes out — and they’ll be doing free publicity for the Oscars for a full year.
From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2022
Nab Hollywood's favorite train wreck and ask her to headline, of course.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2017
The fleet is expected to reach the island's Nab Tower at 19:30, when the ships will break formation.
From BBC • May 3, 2015
Oh, I'm sorry; but this is a private path leading to Nab Grange.
From Helena's Path by Hope, Anthony
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.
