nab

[nab]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nab ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), nabbed, nab·bing. Informal.

to arrest or capture.

to catch or seize, especially suddenly.

to snatch or steal.

Origin of nab

1675–85; earlier nap; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Danish nappe, Norwegian, Swedish nappa to snatch

Related formsnab·ber, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for nabbed

cop, capture, apprehend, clutch, snatch, nail, arrest, take, catch, grab, detain

Examples from the Web for nabbed

Contemporary Examples of nabbed

And yet, she nabbed a Best Supporting Actress nomination over the one and only Oprah.
15 Golden Globe Snubs and Surprises: No Oprah, No Jon Hamm, and More
Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern
December 12, 2013
According to the Los Angeles Times, he was nabbed by store security after they saw him place a pair of headphones down his pants.
The Venice Beach Menace’s Troubled Past
Christine Pelisek, Barbie Latza Nadeau
August 6, 2013
His was one of 11 nominations for Homeland, which also nabbed a supporting actress nod for Morena Baccarin.
Emmy Nomination Surprises and Snubs: ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Orphan Black,’ and More
Jason Lynch
July 18, 2013
[Style.com] Kate Upton's New Vogue Cred: Kate Upton has nabbed another Vogue cover.
Kim Kardashian Finally Gets Noticed By Vogue; Rick Owens's Eurovision Performance
The Fashion Beast Team
June 28, 2013
Red Sox centerfield Johnny Pesky nabbed the relay, double-clutched the ball, and threw late to the plate.
The Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Baseball Book
Luke Epplin
May 8, 2013

Historical Examples of nabbed

Nero must have slipped in, nabbed the fish, and brought it to our house.
Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad
Various
He's nabbed three of the Birdsall gang and is away now after Burleigh.
Warrior Gap
Charles King
Good Lord, man, you'll get nabbed if you speed up like this within limits.
Red Pepper Burns
Grace S. Richmond
It is quite on the cards that we should find that the police have nabbed him.
Linda Tressel
Anthony Trollope
He nabbed the first passer-by and asked him to point out Dr. Fitzhugh.
Unwise Child
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for nabbed

nab

verb nabs, nabbing or nabbed (tr) informal

to arrest

to catch (someone) in wrongdoing

to seize suddenly; snatch

Word Origin for nab

C17: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish nappe, Swedish nappa to snatch. See kidnap

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nabbed

nab

"to catch (someone)," 1680s, probably a variant of dialectal nap "to seize, catch, lay hold of" (1670s, now surviving only in kidnap), which possibly is from Scandinavian (cf. Norwegian nappe, Swedish nappa "to catch, snatch;" Danish nappe "to pinch, pull"); reinforced by Middle English napand "grasping, greedy." Related: Nabbed; nabbing.