as in to grab
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
the brazen seagull snatched the french fry right from my hand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of snatch
Katie Rife, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2025
Notably, the event snatched the record from the 2024 Sao Paulo GP qualifying, which was affected by five red flags.
—Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
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
Verb
Finney triumphed at the end of that film, dispatching child-snatching serial killer the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) with help from the ghosts of his previous victims and one of Gwen’s psychic visions.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2025
Notably, the event snatched the record from the 2024 Sao Paulo GP qualifying, which was affected by five red flags.
—Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 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
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On third-and-9 from the 50, Murray threw a contested pass that receiver Zay Jones couldn’t grab.—
The Athletic NFL Staff,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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Thomas grabbed her husband’s ashes and some cash before trying to rescue her German shepherd, Storm, her companion of more than six years.—
Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Regulators caught off-guard News of Tesla’s Bay Area robotaxi plans unsettled regulators at the California State Transportation Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), according to the emails exchanged on July 25, which were seen by Reuters.—
Chris Kirkham,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
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Rodriguez, 23, didn’t spend a ton of time catching in the Yankees’ system due to New York’s abundance of catching prospects, catching only 172 games over six seasons in the minors.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Now spreading to other Blue states and cities, the LA abductions saw heavy protests in DTLA and Trump federalizing the state’s National Guard and hundreds of Marines to clampdown.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Sep. 2025
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Lopez lived in the same apartment complex as the victim, but did not appear to have any contact with the child or her family prior to the abduction, police said, adding that his criminal background did not include any similar crimes.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Dragons seized another possession with a fumble recovery from Parker Harris — that set up a 10-play scoring drive capped by a four-yard rushing score from Renda.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Sep. 2025
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At trial in December 2023, the jury found Jean — who owned homes in Wellington, Florida, and Long Island, New York, that were seized by authorities — guilty of conspiracy and four wire fraud counts.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Cáceres knew her work was dangerous and, from a young age, Zúñiga learned to take her safety seriously amid fears of kidnapping.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
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Jordan served as a stand-in for Middle Eastern exteriors during key scenes in the true-crime drama of John Paul Getty III’s kidnapping.—
Essie Assibu,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Several investigations and studies revealed the facility was plagued with poor infrastructure and mismanagement, rapes, assaults, and allegations of medical malpractice.—
PJ Green
September 24,
Kansas City Star,
24 Sep. 2025
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Although the rapes went unsolved for decades, authorities were able to make developments in the investigation in 2022 with Cameron becoming a suspect in 2023 after DNA testing found a link between the then-unknown rapist and his daughter, according to ABC.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Adopt phishing-resistant methods to prevent hijacking.—
Austin Gadient,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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The gang runs a lucrative side business hijacking trucks of electronic devices — in this case, combination DVD/VHS players.—
Declan Gallagher,
EW.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Snatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snatch. Accessed 25 Sep. 2025.
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