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
Yes, Nketiah’s winning goal on Saturday arrived late, but nobody at Liverpool was painting Palace’s victory as some sort of smash-and-grab.
—
Stuart James, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
After an incident two weeks ago in San Jose, an 88-year-old jewelry shop owner is recovering after she was shoved to the ground as thieves raided her store in a similar smash-and-grab robbery caught on camera.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Edward Liang of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office told CBS Bay Area that smash-and-grab robberies are a growing problem in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Milpitas.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The announcement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Police Department comes nearly two weeks after a smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry store on Aborn Road in east San Jose drew international attention.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smash-and-grab
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stuart James, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
After an incident two weeks ago in San Jose, an 88-year-old jewelry shop owner is recovering after she was shoved to the ground as thieves raided her store in a similar smash-and-grab robbery caught on camera.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2025
Edward Liang of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office told CBS Bay Area that smash-and-grab robberies are a growing problem in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Milpitas.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The announcement from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Police Department comes nearly two weeks after a smash-and-grab robbery at Kim Hung Jewelry store on Aborn Road in east San Jose drew international attention.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 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 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share