grab.
To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
Meaning & usage
To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
I grabbed her hand to pull her back from the cliff edge.
To make a sudden grasping or clutching motion (at something).
The suspect suddenly broke free and grabbed at the policeman's gun.
Stop grabbing or I won't give you any cookies.
To restrain someone; to arrest.
To grip the attention of; to enthrall or interest.
How does that idea grab you?
To quickly collect, retrieve, or take.
Come in and grab a seat [i.e. sit down].
To consume something quickly.
We'll just grab a sandwich and then we'll be on our way.
Is there time to grab a coffee?
To take the opportunity of.
Where this word comes from
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”). Related to archaic German grappen (“to grab”), Danish grabbe (“to grab”), Swedish grabba (“to grab”), Old Norse grápa (“to seize, appropriate”), Middle English grappen (“to feel, grope, grasp, clutch”), Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”). Related also to Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇā́ti), गृभ्णाति (gṛbhṇā́ti, “he seizes”), Avestan 𐬔𐬭𐬀𐬠 (grab, “to seize”)), Macedonian грабне (grabne, “to snatch”), Bulgarian грабя (grabja, “to rob, to grab”).
A sudden snatch at something.
An acquisition by violent or unjust means.
A mechanical device that grabs or clutches.
A mechanical device that grabs or clutches. A device for withdrawing drills, etc., from artesian and other wells that are drilled, bored, or driven.
A sound bite.
That which is seized.
The rescue of a person from a burning structure.
A simple card game.
Where this word comes from
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”). Related to archaic German grappen (“to grab”), Danish grabbe (“to grab”), Swedish grabba (“to grab”), Old Norse grápa (“to seize, appropriate”), Middle English grappen (“to feel, grope, grasp, clutch”), Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”). Related also to Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇā́ti), गृभ्णाति (gṛbhṇā́ti, “he seizes”), Avestan 𐬔𐬭𐬀𐬠 (grab, “to seize”)), Macedonian грабне (grabne, “to snatch”), Bulgarian грабя (grabja, “to rob, to grab”).
A two- or three-masted vessel used on the Malabar coast.
Where this word comes from
From Arabic غُرَاب (ḡurāb) and Hindi ghurb?: crow, raven, a kind of Arab ship.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.