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Synonyms

smash-and-grab

British  

adjective

  1. informal of or relating to a robbery in which a shop window is broken and the contents removed

"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

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.

Unlike thieves who carry weapons into museums or use axes to smash-and-grab, art-world scammers rarely get violent—so their prison sentences often get cut short.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lewandowski dinked home the second in the 90th minute after another fine Lopez charge into the area to complete Barca's smash-and-grab success.

From Barron's

Even then, Spurs were grateful for the woeful finishing of Monaco's Japanese former Liverpool midfield Takumi Minamino, who wasted three presentable late chances, much to the growing frustration of the home fans, who increasingly feared they would be victims of a smash-and-grab as opportunities came and went.

From BBC

This wasn't a repeat of the smash-and-grab success at Manchester City last December.

From BBC

Appeared in the October 20, 2025, print edition as 'A Napoleonic Smash-and-Grab'.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.