snatch 1 of 2

snatch

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noun

slang
as in kidnaping
the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal to the police chief, it didn't look like a snatch, but another case of a bride-to-be getting cold feet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word snatch different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of snatch are clutch, grab, grasp, seize, and take. While all these words mean "to get hold of by or as if by catching up with the hand," snatch suggests more suddenness or quickness but less force than seize.

snatched a doughnut and ran

When is it sensible to use clutch instead of snatch?

The words clutch and snatch can be used in similar contexts, but clutch suggests avidity or anxiety in seizing or grasping and may imply less success in holding.

clutching her purse

How are the words grab and snatch related?

Grab implies more roughness or rudeness than snatch.

grabbed roughly by the arm

When would grasp be a good substitute for snatch?

The words grasp and snatch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, grasp stresses a laying hold so as to have firmly in possession.

grasp the handle and pull

In what contexts can seize take the place of snatch?

While the synonyms seize and snatch are close in meaning, seize implies a sudden and forcible movement in getting hold of something tangible or an apprehending of something fleeting or elusive when intangible.

seized the suspect

When can take be used instead of snatch?

The meanings of take and snatch largely overlap; however, take is a general term applicable to any manner of getting something into one's possession or control.

take some salad from the bowl

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of snatch
Verb
Only recently in Hong Kong there has been a furor over the case of the man who, riding in his private car, snatched a fountain pen from a passerby. Eileen Chang, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025 Oakmont Country Club is snatching the souls of some of the game's best. Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2025
Noun
The text, sung by two sopranos, may well have been in Esperanto, as only snatches were decipherable. Alan G. Artner, chicagotribune.com, 4 June 2017 The beat is now peppy with drum and snatches of piano, a common Beatles rhythm. Nicholas Dawidoff, The Atlantic, 18 May 2017 See All Example Sentences for snatch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snatch
Verb
  • In the few months since its launch, JD.com has grabbed 7.5% of China’s food-delivery market after its daily meal orders reached 20 million on May 13, according to a May 14 research note from Blue Lotus Capital Advisors.
    Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
  • In Monday night’s first quarter after falling to the court, Haliburton winced and grabbed his lower right leg.
    Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • With the unlikelihood of Saudi Arabia catching any strays, WWE talent arrived in Riyadh this week with no incident.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
  • That unique twist is exactly what caught the attention of Quinn Cosgrove, bass player for local Kansas band The Whips.
    Ramal Nasim, Kansas City Star, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • Kevin — whose 45th birthday is Saturday — remains missing, a rare unsolved case of an infant abduction by a stranger, one of about a dozen such cases still active across the country, according to Angeline Hartmann, spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
    Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2025
  • The Amber Alert system is a child abduction emergency alert protocol used throughout the United States to enlist public assistance in locating missing and endangered children.
    Sophie Clark, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
Verb
  • In 2024, the DEA seized more than 60 million counterfeit pills and nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder nationwide — enough to deliver more than 380 million lethal doses.
    Mark Michalek, Denver Post, 28 June 2025
  • Speakers at the conference, aimed at helping Republicans hold the House and Senate, seized on Mamdani’s win as a symbol of the Democratic Party’s hard-left turn, using it to paint the entire party with the same brush.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • Blankenship was arrested in April on suspicion of rape.
    Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2025
  • On one hand, Serena was part of this world where women were considered less than second-class citizens, and those that were fertile were used by married Gilead couples as incubators for children that were a product of rape, amid a fertility crisis.
    Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Snatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snatch. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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