as in seizes
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
don't grab my arm like that
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Recent Examples of grabs
Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Isabelle slides off Sarah’s lap, flings the towel, pulls on her swimming mask, grabs her mom’s hand and tugs her toward the pool.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
The comparison immediately grabs the attention.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Enraged, John grabs the ring from Carolyn’s finger.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Billie jumps from the second floor, injuring her foot, but Chee grabs her.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Feb. 2026
At a picnic fundraiser in Orlando, his wife Iryna grabs his arms and wildly twirls around his wheelchair, savoring life.
—Carol Guzy, NPR, 22 Feb. 2026
Woodrow Wilson senior grabs first gold Landon Fike delivered on his goal to win his first two career UIL golds on Saturday.
—Aro Majumder, Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 2026
Jackson grabs my luggage cart and starts pushing at a run.
—Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
After this summer’s FIFA World Cup on Fox, the rights for the 2030 tournament are up for grabs.
—Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Many studios have avoided flooding the dead zone of the release-date calendar post-Covid, meaning there are dates up for grabs in January, early February, sometimes mid-spring, late September and October.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
Search tools and bulk data sets are up for grabs and can be used to target any online account.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Feb. 2026
With two top prizes up for grabs this weekend — SAG’s Best Cast and the PGA’s Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture — here’s how each permutation of results would shape the race.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The poll showed the undecided vote stood at 33%, leaving the race up for grabs.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
There will be five roster spots up for grabs, with one likely secured by whomever Dallas selects with its lottery pick, but there’s room for Bagley, especially as an emergency center option in case Dallas encounters more injury misfortune.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
That leaves two bullpen spots up for grabs.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2026
Verb
Barber then grabs her firearm from her vehicle and Riley's girlfriend also retrieves an item from the vehicle, according to the complaint.
—Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Isabelle slides off Sarah’s lap, flings the towel, pulls on her swimming mask, grabs her mom’s hand and tugs her toward the pool.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
The comparison immediately grabs the attention.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2026
Enraged, John grabs the ring from Carolyn’s finger.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
Billie jumps from the second floor, injuring her foot, but Chee grabs her.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Feb. 2026
At a picnic fundraiser in Orlando, his wife Iryna grabs his arms and wildly twirls around his wheelchair, savoring life.
—Carol Guzy, NPR, 22 Feb. 2026
Woodrow Wilson senior grabs first gold Landon Fike delivered on his goal to win his first two career UIL golds on Saturday.
—Aro Majumder, Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 2026
Jackson grabs my luggage cart and starts pushing at a run.
—Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026
Noun
There are vanishingly few districts that are genuinely up for grabs, and that means politicians from each party are increasingly insulated from public opinion and, therefore, from the effects of their policies.
—Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
After this summer’s FIFA World Cup on Fox, the rights for the 2030 tournament are up for grabs.
—Andrew Marchand, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
Many studios have avoided flooding the dead zone of the release-date calendar post-Covid, meaning there are dates up for grabs in January, early February, sometimes mid-spring, late September and October.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
Search tools and bulk data sets are up for grabs and can be used to target any online account.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Feb. 2026
With two top prizes up for grabs this weekend — SAG’s Best Cast and the PGA’s Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture — here’s how each permutation of results would shape the race.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The poll showed the undecided vote stood at 33%, leaving the race up for grabs.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
There will be five roster spots up for grabs, with one likely secured by whomever Dallas selects with its lottery pick, but there’s room for Bagley, especially as an emergency center option in case Dallas encounters more injury misfortune.
—Mike Curtis, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
That leaves two bullpen spots up for grabs.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grabs
Verb
-
Unfortunately, though, she’s still possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley, whose voice seizes her body with tiresome frequency.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) seizes an opportunity to regain her position.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Officers were tasked with combating what officials said was a rise in thefts, people spending money obtained by defrauding the state’s unemployment system and quality of life issues like loud music and the smell of marijuana drifting into stores, according to a 2021 Times investigation.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Police appear to be cracking down on distraction-style thefts with LAPD releasing photos of a man and a woman carrying out a similar scheme.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
There’s much for delight, but the drama lost steam in a confusing episode near the end, when a Snake (portrayed by Abrahamse) snatches the Prince away.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Maisie is a throw-away child in 1910, captivated by a poster of a magical French carousel, when an aunt snatches her out of poverty and takes her into the home of her wealthy employer, a British lord.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As for the transfers, Rogers (33 catches for 441 yards in 2025) will assuredly be put to work as one of only two receivers on the team with more than three career starts.—
Manny Navarro,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Perez nearly has one of her own, but Vestal catches the flyball at the warning track.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Rosalind Wheeler Faux Silk Tulip Wreath Tulips are the flower of springtime, and this wreath captures that soft, seasonal charm with silky pink and purple faux blooms.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The system automatically captures license plate numbers of vehicles passing by and provides that data to police.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For now, iSales is a 50-person team mostly based in Shanghai’s Pudong district, where Pan said the startup gets free office space courtesy of the local government, along with subsidies to use Chinese AI models.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The operation will curtail oil shipments from Iran to China, which gets 90 percent of its oil from Tehran.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The letter lands a day after the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), whose members include Nvidia, Google and Anthropic, sent a letter to Hegseth expressing similar concerns.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Stedman lands every blow thanks to her patient accumulation of ordinary life, the shearing and mustering and fence-mending, the slow mapping of relationships that ensures each loss registers as something more than plot machinery.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grabs. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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