1
as in seizes
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law
the officer nabbed the purse snatcher before he could escape
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grabs
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
a pickpocket nabbed my wallet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nabs
Now, DeLuz just wants to make sure Hilton nabs one of those top two spots, especially after intense sparring with fading Republican candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
—
Terry Collins, USA Today, 1 June 2026
Tampa Bay passes up on a few top edge rushers here (Miami’s Akheem Mesidor and Auburn’s Keldric Faulk) because of the depth at the position and instead nabs McCoy before a few other corner-needy teams.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
This bundle also includes one month of eero Plus, which nabs you exra features like parental controls to help set schedules and content filters.
—George Yang, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
Infielder Chris Hacopian barrels a ball, but Jaquae Stewart nabs it right before the warning track.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
When one pilot nabs a speed record, almost instantly another goes up into the clouds to attempt to top them.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
McEntire is up to four top 10s, Wilson claims her seventh, while Cyrus nabs her milestone twentieth top 10 bestseller.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Quavo, likewise, nabs his third champ among his solo outings.
—Trevor Anderson, Billboard, 27 Jan. 2026
In a new 'acquihire,' Google nabs top talent from voice AI startup Hume.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Terry Collins, USA Today, 1 June 2026
Tampa Bay passes up on a few top edge rushers here (Miami’s Akheem Mesidor and Auburn’s Keldric Faulk) because of the depth at the position and instead nabs McCoy before a few other corner-needy teams.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
This bundle also includes one month of eero Plus, which nabs you exra features like parental controls to help set schedules and content filters.
—George Yang, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
Infielder Chris Hacopian barrels a ball, but Jaquae Stewart nabs it right before the warning track.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
When one pilot nabs a speed record, almost instantly another goes up into the clouds to attempt to top them.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
McEntire is up to four top 10s, Wilson claims her seventh, while Cyrus nabs her milestone twentieth top 10 bestseller.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Quavo, likewise, nabs his third champ among his solo outings.
—Trevor Anderson, Billboard, 27 Jan. 2026
In a new 'acquihire,' Google nabs top talent from voice AI startup Hume.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nabs
Verb
-
Trump seizes America’s 250th-birthday spotlight, headlining the Great American State Fair, hosting a UFC bout at the White House and promoting new passports, $250 bills and coins bearing his image.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
Ellie brings up the salad and seizes the opportunity to take credit for her part in making lunch.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Kennedy then pins the snake’s head and grabs it by the mouth, avoiding any potential venomous bites.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
-
Davis grabs two suitcases off the belt, pulls out a handheld computer that looks like an extra-rugged iPad, and scans the bar codes on the luggage tags.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That last risk is the most dangerous, since an error nobody catches becomes a decision the business acts on.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
The app provides instant feedback and catches pronunciation mistakes.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
John Early, as anyone encountering his work soon apprehends, chooses the latter.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
-
Though the team immediately apprehends a suspect, the Marshals end up taking criticism from both sides.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) snatches his parents, Adam is plucked out of Eternia and returns years later from the human world to assume his true identity as He-Man and save the planet.—
Matt Minton,
Variety,
6 June 2026
-
Every time that second title looks close, something happens that snatches the dream away.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Alligator Alcatraz houses a few hundred employees in trailers and detains about 650 male immigrants in large tents; until a few weeks ago, the number of those being detained was nearly 1,500.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
-
What are your rights if ICE detains you?—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
To conserve water, Terry built a system that captures groundwater on-site and reuses it for irrigation, creating a dry-creek-style basin that collects runoff.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2026
-
On their website, a statement captures their philosophy.—
Emily M. Olson,
Hartford Courant,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nabs. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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