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Snatch

8 dictionary results for: snatch

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

snatch

[snach] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used without object)

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

–verb (used with object)

2.	to seize by a sudden or hasty grasp: He snatched the old lady's purse and ran.

3.	to take, get, secure, etc., suddenly or hastily.

4.	to rescue or save by prompt action: He snatched the baby from the fire.

5.	Slang. to kidnap.

–noun

6.	the act or an instance of snatching.

7.	a sudden motion to seize something; grab: He made a snatch as if to stop her.

8.	a bit, scrap, or fragment of something: snatches of conversation.

9.	a brief spell of effort, activity, or any experience: to work in snatches.

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

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.

Compare clean and jerk.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME snacche (n.), snacchen (v.) < ?; c. MD snacken

]

—Related forms

snatch·a·ble, adjective

snatcher, noun

snatch·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

snatch   (snāch) Pronunciation Key
v.   snatched, snatch·ing, snatch·es

v.   tr.

1. To grasp or seize hastily, eagerly, or suddenly.
2. Sports To raise (a weight) in one quick, uninterrupted motion from the floor to a position over the lifter's head.
To grasp or seize illicitly.

v. intr.
To make grasping or seizing motions: snatched at the lamp cord.

n.

The act of snatching; a quick grasp or grab.
A brief period of time: "At the end we preferred to travel all night,/Sleeping in snatches" (T.S. Eliot).
A small amount; a bit or fragment: a snatch of dialogue.
Slang A kidnapping.
Sports A lift in weightlifting in which the weight is raised in one uninterrupted motion from the floor to a position over the lifter's head.
Vulgar Slang The vulva.

[Middle English snacchen.]

snatch'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
snatch (v.)

c.1225, 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" (c.1589). Weight-lifting sense is attested from 1928.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

snatch
noun
1.	a small fragment; "overheard snatches of their conversation"
2.	obscene terms for female genitals [syn: cunt]
3.	(law) the unlawful act of capturing and carrying away a person against their will and holding them in false imprisonment [syn: kidnapping]
4.	a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted overhead in one rapid motion
5.	the act of catching an object with the hands; "Mays made the catch with his back to the plate"; "he made a grab for the ball before it landed"; "Martin's snatch at the bridle failed and the horse raced away"; "the infielder's snap and throw was a single motion" [syn: catch]
verb
1.	to grasp hastily or eagerly; "Before I could stop him the dog snatched the ham bone"
2.	to make grasping motions; "the cat snatched at the butterflies"
3.	take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom; "The industrialist's son was kidnapped" [syn: kidnap]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snatch

Snack\, n. [See Snatch, v. t.]

1. A share; a part or portion; -- obsolete, except in the colloquial phrase, to go snacks, i. e., to share.

At last he whispers, "Do, and we go snacks." --Pope.

2. A slight, hasty repast. [Colloq.]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snatch

Snatch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Snatched; p. pr. & vb. n. Snatching.] [OE. snachen, snechen; akin to D. snakken to gasp, to long (for), to desire. Cf. Snack, n., Sneck.]

1. To take or seize hastily, abruptly, or without permission or ceremony; as, to snatch a loaf or a kiss.

When half our knowledge we must snatch, not take. --Pope.

2. To seize and transport away; to rap. "Snatch me to heaven." --Thomson.

Syn: To twitch; pluck; grab; catch; grasp; gripe.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snatch

Snatch\, v. i. To attempt to seize something suddenly; to catch; -- often with at; as, to snatch at a rope.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Snatch

Snatch\, n. 1. A hasty catching or seizing; a grab; a catching at, or attempt to seize, suddenly.