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.
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
Maduro, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost three months after American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas in early January.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
On Tuesday, police confirmed McSweeney had reported his phone was snatched in October last year, but the case had been closed.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
He approached, climbed the cottonwood tree and snatched a single pale-blue egg.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
I snatched up Aunt Kitty’s favorite bonnet and began running my fingers through the long pheasant feathers.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
