snatched
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of snatched
First recorded in 1990–95; origin uncertain; possibly from regional American snatching “attractive” (1962); possibly from Black drag culture, where stage performers wear weaves (artificial hairweaves), and if something is amazingly good ( snatched ), it may snatch one's weave off, knock one's socks off (but the connection is unclear)
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.
When thieves snatched 12 metric tons of KitKats in transit from Italy to Poland, the company capitalized with some free publicity for one of its most famous brands.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
Actor Tommy Dorfman snatched up the rights to write and direct the body thriller.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
The raven and a “silent partner” then snatched the helpless goslings and devoured them—a machination to make Poe proud.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
More than $100 million in congressionally appropriated funds awarded to scholars, writers, archivists, and researchers across the country was snatched up in three days.
From Slate • May 14, 2026
I snatched it up, yanked up the sliding door again, flung the case inside, shoved the door down, and pushed my prison bag up against it.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
