snatch
[snach]
- to make a sudden effort to seize something, as with the hand; grab (usually followed by at).
Show More
- to seize by a sudden or hasty grasp: He snatched the old lady's purse and ran.
- to take, get, secure, etc., suddenly or hastily.
- to rescue or save by prompt action: He snatched the baby from the fire.
- Slang. to kidnap.
Show More
- the act or an instance of snatching.
- a sudden motion to seize something; grab: He made a snatch as if to stop her.
- a bit, scrap, or fragment of something: snatches of conversation.
- a brief spell of effort, activity, or any experience: to work in snatches.
- Nautical. a sheave or projecting member serving as a fairlead.
- a brief period of time.
- Slang. an act of kidnapping.
- Slang: Vulgar. vulva; vagina.
- Weightlifting. a lift in which the barbell is brought in a single motion from the floor to an arms-extended position overhead.
Show More
Compare clean and jerk.
Origin of snatch
1175–1225; Middle English snacche (noun), snacchen (v.) < ?; cognate with Middle Dutch snacken
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for snatched
Contemporary Examples
The subtext of the clown is that life is a joke and can be snatched away at any moment.
The Germans and Japanese have snatched their customers away in North America.
He snatched up the thrown chair and crashed it down onto the head of a charging older black man, who crumpled into a heap.
Vladimir Putin snatched Crimea from Ukraine as a strategic, patriotic, and touristic prize.
Another time, he came to the rescue of a young woman whose iPhone had been snatched by a petty thief.
Historical Examples
People giggled, and she snatched her hand away, blushing furiously.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
And it was true I could have snatched the meat from her like a wolf, but because of my vow I would not.
The Trail BookMary Austin
Tiennette snatched from the hands of Rose and Jeanne the stockings they were coveting.
The DreamEmile Zola
And with a sudden movement, as the Huberts closed it to give it back to her, she snatched it from them.
The DreamEmile Zola
Then he sprang upon the slippery rock and snatched the gold.
Opera Stories from WagnerFlorence Akin
snatch
- (tr) to seize or grasp (something) suddenly or peremptorilyhe snatched the chocolate out of my hand
- (intr usually foll by at) to seize or attempt to seize suddenly
- (tr) to take hurriedlyto snatch some sleep
- (tr) to remove suddenlyshe snatched her hand away
- (tr) to gain, win, or rescue, esp narrowlythey snatched victory in the closing seconds
- (tr) (in weightlifting) to lift (a weight) with a snatch
- snatch one's time Australian informal to leave a job, taking whatever pay is due
Show More
- an act of snatching
- a fragment or small incomplete partsnatches of conversation
- a brief spellsnatches of time off
- weightlifting a lift in which the weight is raised in one quick motion from the floor to an overhead position
- slang, mainly US an act of kidnapping
- British slang a robberya diamond snatch
Show More
Word Origin
C13 snacchen; related to Middle Dutch snakken to gasp, Old Norse snaka to sniff around
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 snatched
snatch
v.
early 13c., "make a sudden snap or bite" (at something), of uncertain origin; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *snæccan or Middle Dutch snacken "to snatch, chatter." Cf. snack (n.). Meaning "lay hold of suddenly" is from early 14c.; especially "take from someone's hands" (1580s). Weight-lifting sense is attested from 1928. Related: Snatched; snatching.
Show More
snatch
n.
c.1300, "a trap, snare," from snatch (v.). Meaning "a sudden grab" is from 1570s; that of "a small amount" is from 1590s. Sense in weight-lifting is from 1928. Vulgar slang sense of "vulva" is recorded from 1903; a much older venereal sense was "sexual intercourse quickly performed" (1580s).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper