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snatch

[snach]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used without object)

to make a sudden effort to seize something, as with the hand; grab (usually followed by at).

verb (used with object)

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.

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Snatch is always a great word to know.

So is chutzpa. Does it mean:

unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall, audacity, or nerve

to understand thoroughly and intuitively

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noun

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.

10.

Nautical. a sheave or projecting member serving as a fairlead.

EXPAND

11.

a brief period of time.

12.

Slang. an act of kidnapping.

13.

Slang: Vulgar. vulva; vagina.

14.

Weightlifting. a lift in which the barbell is brought in a single motion from the floor to an arms-extended position overhead.

COLLAPSE

Compare clean and jerk.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English snacche (noun), snacchen (v.) < ?; cognate with Middle Dutch snacken

Related forms

snatch·a·ble, adjective

snatch·er, noun

snatch·ing·ly, adverb

out·snatch, verb (used with object)

un·snatched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To snatch

Example Sentences

Thanks for your kind words, and it'd be wonderful if some intelligent woman would snatch me up, as you say.

There will be a cavity in the water near your armpit where you snatch air.

The snatch was carried out with considerable professionalism.

EXPAND

Thanks for your kind words, and it'd be wonderful if some intelligent woman would snatch me up, as you say.

There will be a cavity in the water near your armpit where you snatch air.

The snatch was carried out with considerable professionalism.

Ecologists snatch and band pelican chicks so they can monitor the pelican colony's health.

And, presumably, where to hide the children that the evil clowns snatch from their beds in the dead of night.

Worst of all there is the large, fierce bird that swoops down to snatch pigeons out of the air.

Both are stuck in mature industries in which, to grow, companies have to snatch business from their rivals.

Golden eagles use their speed and sharp talons to snatch up rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels.

E-book readers don't snatch as many headlines as other gadgets, but the market is flooded with options.

Do not allow other men to snatch away your awesomeness.

Families of elephants bathe in the waters while wading birds snatch prey nearby.

It's easy to see why directors snatch up the rights to dramatize his patients' histories.

Before long paparazzi will put cameras in them to snatch pictures of celebrities.

For tufted capuchin monkeys, however, the trick could be a clever way to snatch a free meal.

Crisis always evolved when you snatch the others right.

M kenselyi's formidable claws probably help the animal snatch prey or intimidate rival males.

Rate of taxes should be higher but not too high so as to snatch the entire income or the major portion of the income earned.

Many predators rely on the element of surprise to snatch a young monkey or other tasty morsel.

Great blue herons wade slowly through shallow water and then suddenly snatch a fish, crab, or other creature from the water.

Crabs and night herons snatch up some of the other hatchlings on the beach.

The lizards also dash right in among the birds to snatch ?sh scraps and gnats.

Rock pythons tend to hunt near the shore, hiding in reeds to snatch birds that come to feed on fish.

The lizards also dash right in among the birds to snatch fish scraps and gnats.

We snatch the flaming stove from the tent, douse it in the snow.

If you're lucky, you can snatch up some food freebies to enjoy while watching traditional dances and crafts demonstrations.

My parents looked out the window to see a fox trying to snatch one of our chickens.

Schulz carefully chose each snatch of music he drew and transcribed.

We started feeding the first one during our dinner because otherwise she'd snatch stuff off our plates.

The owls deftly snatch their quarry with their sharp talons.

The owls, which did fly, used their unusually long legs to snatch other birds from the air.

They may also come up beneath seabirds resting on the water surface and snatch them in their jaws.

Rust arises from an intricate subatomic dance in which water's oxygen and hydrogen atoms snatch electrons from atoms of iron.

Over a decade ago, human traffickers descended on this town to snatch up women and children.

All that remains is to snatch them from the air and put them on the set.

With ice-pick talons tucked under their chins, great grays hurtle headfirst into deep snow to snatch voles-diving with.

He might snatch a purse, or steal a coin cup, or worse.

Eagles sometimes swoop down and snatch a small kid or knock an adult off balance enough to make it fall.

The riders do not stop but snatch the bags, which have long cords as handles easy to snatch.

And witness the amazing spectacle of these huge whales hurling themselves onto the beach to snatch their unsuspecting prey.

Alternatively, one side or another will snatch a hand away and walk off to search further.

In the snatch the lifter propels a heavy barbell from the ground to arm's length overhead in one explosive movement.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

snatch (snætʃ)

—vb (usually foll by at)
1.	(tr) to seize or grasp (something) suddenly or peremptorily: he snatched the chocolate out of my hand
2.	to seize or attempt to seize suddenly
3.	(tr) to take hurriedly: to snatch some sleep
4.	(tr) to remove suddenly: she snatched her hand away
5.	(tr) to gain, win, or rescue, esp narrowly: they snatched victory in the closing seconds
6.	(tr) (in weightlifting) to lift (a weight) with a snatch
7.	informal (Austral) snatch one's time to leave a job, taking whatever pay is due

—n
8.	an act of snatching
9.	a fragment or small incomplete part: snatches of conversation
10.	a brief spell: snatches of time off
11.	weightlifting a lift in which the weight is raised in one quick motion from the floor to an overhead position
12.	slang chiefly (US) an act of kidnapping
13.	slang (Brit) a robbery: a diamond snatch

[C13 snacchen; related to Middle Dutch snakken to gasp, Old Norse snaka to sniff around]

'snatcher

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

snatch

early 13c., perhaps from M.Du. snacken "to snatch, chatter." The noun is attested from c.1300; vulgar slang sense of "vulva" is recorded from 1903; from a much older sense of "sexual intercourse quickly performed" (1580s). Weight-lifting sense is attested from 1928.

Slang Dictionary

snatch definition

tv.
to kidnap someone. (Underworld.) : We're gonna snatch the kid when the baby-sitter comes out to see what happened.
n.
a kidnapping. (Underworld.) : The Bradley snatch had the detectives up all night for weeks.
tv.
to grab something; to steal something. : Snatch me the paper there on the table as you walk by, would you please?
n.
a theft. (Underworld.) : The snatch went off without a hitch except that the safe was empty.
n.
women considered as a receptacle for the penis. (Rude and derogatory.) : The sailor walked around the port, looking for some snatch.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

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Slang

piece of snatch

Matching Quote

"Friends don't snatch or act snobby, and they don't argue or disagree. If you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you."

-Julie

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