smash-and-grab
adjective
chiefly British
—used to describe a robbery that is done by breaking a window of a car, store, etc., and stealing whatever can be taken quickly
a smash-and-grab robbery/thief
Examples of smash-and-grab in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Video clips of California cities’ squalid encampments of the homeless, the smash-and-grab robberies and the sometimes violent demonstrations against Trump’s immigration sweeps would bolster the sour image that those in other states already have of California.
—
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 19 June 2025
Proposition 36 was inspired by escalating retail theft, including smash-and-grab burglaries, that were virtually unpunished.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 3 June 2025
For all of the five-year remembrances of COVID-19, few have paused to recall the cyber smash-and-grab that hoovered billions of dollars out of state unemployment offices.
—Will Swaim, Oc Register, 1 June 2025
The Woods WeHo, a cannabis dispensary and lounge co-owned by Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher and John McEnroe, was targeted in a smash-and-grab burglary.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for smash-and-grab
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Dan Walters, Mercury News, 19 June 2025
Proposition 36 was inspired by escalating retail theft, including smash-and-grab burglaries, that were virtually unpunished.
—George Skelton, Mercury News, 3 June 2025
For all of the five-year remembrances of COVID-19, few have paused to recall the cyber smash-and-grab that hoovered billions of dollars out of state unemployment offices.
—Will Swaim, Oc Register, 1 June 2025
The Woods WeHo, a cannabis dispensary and lounge co-owned by Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher and John McEnroe, was targeted in a smash-and-grab burglary.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for smash-and-grab
Cite this Entry
“Smash-and-grab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smash-and-grab. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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