snatched; snatching; snatches
: to attempt to seize something suddenly
: to take or grasp abruptly or hastily
snatch up a pen
snatched the first opportunity
also
: to seize or take suddenly without permission, ceremony, or right
snatched a kiss
snatcher
noun
1
a
: a brief period
caught snatches of sleep
b
: a brief, fragmentary, or hurried part : bit
caught snatches of the conversation
2
a
: a snatching at or of something
b
slang
: an act or instance of kidnapping
3
: a lift in weight lifting in which the weight is raised from the floor directly to an overhead position in a single motion compare clean and jerk, press
4
vulgar
: the female pudenda
Synonyms
Examples of snatch in a Sentence
Verb
An eagle swooped down and snatched one of the hens.
She snatched the toy from his hands.
Noun
to the police chief, it didn't look like a snatch, but another case of a bride-to-be getting cold feet
Recent Examples on the Web
Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024
And just as suddenly as the bright vegan-mayo, barbecue, and beetroot condiment appeared, Brits snatched up every single last one of the 5,000 bottles that were available, proving Barbiecore fandom hasn’t gone away just yet.
—Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Apr. 2024
In January, Peters said the company aimed to snatch more ad dollars from traditional TV competitors.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
And just as Minaj snatched the mic from one of her fans, the top of her dress falls down and exposes her breast.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
So does hitting the trampoline at the correct moment while a basketball is hovering in the air, waiting to be snatched up and thrown down in an acrobatic dunk.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 28 Mar. 2024
When fish are stuck in the canal, predators like grebes and cormorants can more easily snatch them.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
It’s also equipped with an anti-tangle brush roll that snatches up hair and pet fur without knotting and clogging.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Automattic first invested in Beeper in 2022, and late last year snatched up another messaging app, Texts, for $50 million.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Joseph Geha, The Mercury News, 8 June 2017
The text, sung by two sopranos, may well have been in Esperanto, as only snatches were decipherable.
—Alan G. Artner, chicagotribune.com, 4 June 2017
The beat is now peppy with drum and snatches of piano, a common Beatles rhythm.
—Nicholas Dawidoff, The Atlantic, 18 May 2017
Some were able to hear snatches of melody as subtle as the scraping together of grass-blades or the throbbing of the brittle tissue of insects.
—Ben Lerner, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2017
The accidental comedy of some of the conversations even led the program BBC Newsnight to dramatize snatches of dialogue, with the voices of both the American president and the British prime minister played by the impressionist Rory Bremner.
—Robert MacKey, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2016
Verb
Ten years ago, a patient hunter could sometimes snatch up a 1530 for hundreds of dollars, but—as with the King Midas before it—the 1530 is in vogue, and its flop at retail means not that many are out there.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024
And just as suddenly as the bright vegan-mayo, barbecue, and beetroot condiment appeared, Brits snatched up every single last one of the 5,000 bottles that were available, proving Barbiecore fandom hasn’t gone away just yet.
—Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Apr. 2024
In January, Peters said the company aimed to snatch more ad dollars from traditional TV competitors.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
And just as Minaj snatched the mic from one of her fans, the top of her dress falls down and exposes her breast.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024
So does hitting the trampoline at the correct moment while a basketball is hovering in the air, waiting to be snatched up and thrown down in an acrobatic dunk.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 28 Mar. 2024
When fish are stuck in the canal, predators like grebes and cormorants can more easily snatch them.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
It’s also equipped with an anti-tangle brush roll that snatches up hair and pet fur without knotting and clogging.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Automattic first invested in Beeper in 2022, and late last year snatched up another messaging app, Texts, for $50 million.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Noun
While there hasn’t been a particular rash of private sales scams in the city lately, Bosques recalled a case the FBI cracked with the help of a Fremont detective who was investigating a snatch-and-grab robbery at a coffee shop in 2012.
—Joseph Geha, The Mercury News, 8 June 2017
The text, sung by two sopranos, may well have been in Esperanto, as only snatches were decipherable.
—Alan G. Artner, chicagotribune.com, 4 June 2017
The beat is now peppy with drum and snatches of piano, a common Beatles rhythm.
—Nicholas Dawidoff, The Atlantic, 18 May 2017
Some were able to hear snatches of melody as subtle as the scraping together of grass-blades or the throbbing of the brittle tissue of insects.
—Ben Lerner, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2017
The accidental comedy of some of the conversations even led the program BBC Newsnight to dramatize snatches of dialogue, with the voices of both the American president and the British prime minister played by the impressionist Rory Bremner.
—Robert MacKey, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2016
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snatch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near snatch
Cite this Entry
“Snatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snatch. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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