# grab

Pronunciation: say "GRAB" /ɡɹæb/

## Verb

1. To take hold of something suddenly and forcefully; to seize or clutch it.
   - Simple: To take hold of something suddenly and firmly.
   - _He grabbed his bag and ran for the train._
   - _Quick hands grab the falling glass before it shatters._
2. To collect, pick up, or take something quickly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To get or pick up something quickly.
   - _She grabbed a sandwich before the meeting started._
   - _Let me grab the files from my desk._
3. To make a sudden reaching or clutching movement toward something.
   - Simple: To reach out and try to take hold of something quickly.
   - _She grabbed at the railing as she fell._
   - _Frightened, the children grab at anything within reach._
4. To take eager advantage of an opportunity.
   - Simple: To take a chance to do something while you can.
   - _He grabbed the chance to meet his hero in person._
   - _Smart investors grab every opening the market offers._
5. To capture and hold someone's attention or interest.
   - Simple: To catch someone's interest and hold it.
   - _The opening scene grabbed the audience immediately._
   - _Bold headlines grab attention faster than long paragraphs._
7. To consume food or drink quickly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To eat or drink something fast.
   - _We grabbed a bite between meetings._
   - _Commuters grab breakfast from the station kiosk._
8. To seize and hold someone, especially in order to arrest them.
   - Simple: To catch and hold someone so they cannot leave.
   - _Officers grabbed the suspect before he could flee._
   - _Security guards grab troublemakers and hold them for the police._

## Noun

6. A sudden snatching movement at something.
   - Simple: A quick movement to take hold of something.
   - _A quick grab saved the vase from falling._
   - _Several grabs at the rope finally caught it._
9. A taking of something by force or unjust means.
   - Simple: Something taken by force or in an unfair way.
   - _The corporate grab of public water rights sparked protests._
   - _History records many violent grabs for territory._
10. A mechanical device that grips or clutches objects so they can be lifted or moved.
   - Simple: A machine part that takes hold of things and lifts them.
   - _The excavator lowered its grab into the trench._
   - _Mechanical grabs unload coal from the ship's hold._
11. A brief recorded clip of speech inserted into a news report; a sound bite.
   - Simple: A short clip of someone speaking, used in a news report.
   - _The evening bulletin opened with a punchy grab from the prime minister._
   - _Producers cut the interview into several usable grabs._
12. The act of rescuing a living person from a burning structure. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The act of saving someone from inside a burning building.
   - _The team's grab brought two residents out before the roof collapsed._
   - _A successful grab depends on getting in and out before flashover._
13. A simple card game with easy rules.
   - Simple: An easy card game with simple rules.
   - _On rainy afternoons they played grab at the kitchen table._
   - _A round of grab kept the children entertained for hours._
14. A tool for withdrawing drills and other equipment from wells that have been drilled, bored, or driven.
   - Simple: A tool used to pull drills out of deep wells.
   - _When the bit snapped off, the crew ran a grab down the borehole to retrieve it._
   - _A grab is essential for clearing dropped equipment from a driven well._
16. A two- or three-masted sailing vessel formerly used along the Malabar coast of India.
   - Simple: A two- or three-masted sailing ship used on the Malabar coast of India.
   - _The merchant loaded his grab with pepper bound for the Persian Gulf._
   - _Several grabs lay at anchor off the Malabar shore._

## Noun

15. That which has been seized; plunder or spoils. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Something that has been taken or seized.
   - _The raiders piled the grab in the hall and counted it by torchlight._
   - _He hid his portion of the grab beneath the floorboards._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–15** — This sense comes from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German grabben ("to grasp, seize, snatch"), going back through Old Saxon and Proto-Germanic forms meaning "to gather or rake," from a Proto-Indo-European root *gʰrebʰ- ("to gather, grab, seize"). It is related to words like Danish grabbe, Swedish grabba, and Sanskrit gṛhṇā́ti ("he seizes").
**Meaning 16** — This sense comes from Arabic غُرَاب (ḡurāb) and a Hindi word, meaning "crow" or "raven," and also a kind of Arab ship.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/grab (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).