grabby

adjective

grab·​by ˈgra-bē 

grabbier; grabbiest

1

: tending to grab : grasping, greedy

grabby hands

taught the children not to be grabby

2

: having the power to grab the attention

grabby ads

Synonyms

• acquisitive
• avaricious
• avid
• coveting
• covetous
• grasping
• greedy
• mercenary
• moneygrubbing
• rapacious

Examples of grabby in a Sentence

You need to learn to share and not be so grabby.

very young children tend to be grabby and often refuse to share

Recent Examples on the Web

On Ferraris, the carbon ceramics are annoyingly grabby, providing huge brake force with the slightest pressure on the pedal. —Dan Carney, Popular Science, 5 July 2023

Rubber gloves, while moisture-proof and generally better fitted to the hand, are too grabby. —Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2023

Lib’s proprietary Magne-Traction—serrated bumps along the sidecut—help the Orca Split lock in on sketchy traverses or unexpected, mid-line hardpack, although some purists who prefer smooth sidecuts do find the bumps grabby. —Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 18 Oct. 2022

But since people are more likely to see grabby social media ads, the risks are frequently left out. —Hannah Jackson, ELLE, 8 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined at sense 1