grab
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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grabs,
present (3rd person singular)
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grabbed,
past participle, past
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grabbing
present participle
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to seize suddenly or quickly; snatch; clutch.
He grabbed me by the collar.
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to take illegal possession of; seize forcibly or unscrupulously.
to grab land.
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to obtain and consume quickly.
Let's grab a sandwich before going to the movie.
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Slang.
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to cause a reaction in; affect.
How does my idea grab you?
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to arouse the interest or excitement of.
The book was O.K., but it just didn't grab me.
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verb (used without object)
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grabs,
present (3rd person singular)
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grabbed,
past participle, past
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grabbing
present participle
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to make a grasping or clutching motion (usually followed byat ).
He grabbed frantically at the life preserver.
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(of brakes, a clutch, etc.) to take hold suddenly or with a jolting motion; catch.
noun
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a sudden, quick grasp or snatch.
to make a grab at something.
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seizure or acquisition by violent or unscrupulous means.
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something that is grabbed.
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a mechanical device for gripping objects.
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the capacity to hold or adhere.
The glue was so old it had lost its grab.
idioms
noun
verb
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to seize hold of (something)
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(tr) to seize illegally or unscrupulously
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(tr) to arrest; catch
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(intr) (of a brake or clutch in a vehicle) to grip and release intermittently causing juddering
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informal (tr) to catch the attention or interest of; impress
noun
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the act or an instance of grabbing
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a mechanical device for gripping objects, esp the hinged jaws of a mechanical excavator
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something that is grabbed
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informal available to be bought, claimed, or won
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grabsimple
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grabssimple
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have grabbedperfect
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has grabbedperfect
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am grabbingprogressive
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are grabbingprogressive
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is grabbingprogressive
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have been grabbingperfect progressive
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has been grabbingperfect progressive
Past
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grabbedsimple
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had grabbedperfect
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was grabbingprogressive
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were grabbingprogressive
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had been grabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grab1
First recorded in 1580–90; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German grabben, Swedish grabba
Origin of grab2
First recorded in 1670–80; from Arabic ghurāb literally, “raven”
Explanation
When you grab something, you clutch at it. When a party-goer breaks open a piñata, the other guests usually grab wildly at the candy that cascades out of it. You can grab for the string of a balloon as it floats away, or grab your friend in a hug. Another way to grab is to make an impression: "When I hear a marching band, it grabs my attention." A "grab bag" is a random mixture of things, or a bag of goodies you can reach into and grab from. If something's "up for grabs." it's available: "This last piece of pie is up for grabs!"
Vocabulary lists containing grab
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.
See Examples For:
Now, a parade of mining companies hoping to ride the boom are trying to grab attention by wrapping themselves in red, white and blue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
An England Under-17 international, the bruising forward will naturally grab more headlines if he maintains the level he found in Austria against the back-to-back Champions League winners.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
If there is sufficient demand from eager buyers looking to purchase, they may move quickly to grab those properties at asking price, which will then mean that prices won’t drop as much.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
A new generation of cost-efficient, high-performance Chinese AI is putting pressure on Silicon Valley's leading labs to lower prices to grab market share as they try and find ways to turn a profit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Now, I grab Pierre and position him on top of the torn postcards to hide the evidence.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Last year’s event offered a golf-record $50 million, while this season’s was supposed to have $40 million up for grabs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The third slot remains up for grabs, with neither Josh Tongue nor Saqib Mahmood consolidating their place in the side.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Australian creative content was not "up for grabs", and the new laws will provide "the strongest possible protection for Australian artists and Australian media", Albanese said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
It’s the “remarkable structural repricing” of Japan, though, that grabs the attention.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Mavis —” He grabs my hand as I head for the stairwell.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Outside, they grabbed hold of a metal gate and waited for the shaking to stop.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Having seen her worst predictions come to pass, she grabbed hold of the only future she was able to change: her own.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
When the couple made it home, they quickly grabbed their dogs and passports, and drove away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mulholland grabbed his assistant and told his chauffeur to head there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
A little behind us and to the left was a thick line of trees, and I grabbed Elliot by the back of his shirt and hauled him toward them.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Universities UK, which represents 142 institutions, said the changes in student acceptance numbers was not necessarily as simple as the top universities grabbing as many students as they could by lowering grades.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
New Chinese AI models big and small -- from Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 to Alibaba's popular Qwen series -- are grabbing attention as challengers to Anthropic and OpenAI's lead.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
What’s striking is that she found climbing on the backs of near-strangers to be less weird than grabbing drinks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
His films are designed to be all-consuming experiences, opening in media res, grabbing the viewer by the ankle and dragging them into action already in progress.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Jack shouted, grabbing May’s hand and running toward the nearest tree.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
