grab
//ˈɡɹæb//
Forms
- present (v1)
- grab
- past (v2)
- grabbed
- past participle (v3)
- grabbed
- present participle
- grabbing
- 3rd person singular
- grabs
- Plural
- grabs
Definitions
1.To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
- I grabbed her hand to pull her back from the cliff edge.
2.To make a sudden grasping or clutching motion (at something).
- Stop grabbing or I won't give you any cookies.
- The suspect suddenly broke free and grabbed at the policeman's gun.
3.To restrain someone; to arrest.
4.To grip the attention of; to enthrall or interest.
- How does that idea grab you?
1.A sudden snatch at something.
- He made a grab for me and I swung my handbag at him as hard as I could.
- The ball popped in and popped out, and when he made a grab for it on the ground he kicked it with his foot.
2.An acquisition by violent or unjust means.
3.A sound bite.
4.A mechanical device that grabs or clutches.
- Almost all modern cranes are electrically operated and a quick-acting type of 30 cwt. capacity is suitable for general cargo, but not powerful enough to operate grabs for discharge of bulk cargoes.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1493
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Common
Etymology
From Middle Dutch grabben or Middle Low German grabben (“to grasp, grab, seize, snatch”), from Old Saxon gravan, from Proto-West Germanic *grabbōn, a secondary form of Proto-Germanic *grabōną (“to gather, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to gather, rake, grab, seize”).