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v. grabbed, grab·bing, grabs v.tr. 1. To take or grasp suddenly: grabbed the letter from me. 2. To capture or restrain; arrest. 3. To obtain or appropriate unscrupulously or forcibly: grab public funds; grab power. 4. To take hurriedly: grabbed my coat and hat and left. 5. Slang To capture the attention of: a plot that grabs the reader. v.intr. To make a grasping or snatching motion: We grabbed for the life raft. n. 1. a. A sudden attempt to grasp or hold something: made a grab for the railing. b. A sudden, often unscrupulous taking control or ownership of something: "The imminence of death is reflected in every last power-stroke and grab of the great money bosses" (Dylan Thomas). 2. A mechanical device for gripping an object. adj. Idiom: Relating or being an object or device that is grabbed or gripped for support or balance: installed a grab bar in the shower. up for grabs Slang Available for anyone to take or win: "The reputation of the ... king is still up for grabs" (William Zinsser). [Obsolete Dutch or Low German grabben, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; see ghrebh-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] grabba·ble adj. grabber n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A usually two-masted, sharp-prowed coastal vessel of the Indian Ocean. [Arabic ġurāb, raven, swift galley; see ġrb in Semitic roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
