snatch

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /snætʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ætʃ

Etymology 1

Unknown

Verb

snatch (third-person singular simple present snatches, present participle snatching, simple past and past participle snatched)

1. To grasp quickly.

   He snatched up the phone.

2. To attempt to seize something suddenly; to catch.

   to snatch at a rope

3. To grasp and remove quickly.

   He snatched the letter out of the secretary's hand.

   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 2

     "How many times have I told you?" she cried, and seized him and snatched his stick away from him.

4. To steal.

   Someone has just snatched my purse!

5. (by extension) To take a victory at the last moment.
   • 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd”, BBC Sport:

     But, with United fans in celebratory mood as it appeared their team might snatch glory, they faced an anxious wait as City equalised in stoppage time.

6. To do something quickly due to limited time available.

   He snatched a sandwich before catching the train.

   He snatched a glimpse of her while her mother had her back turned.

Synonyms

• grab
• See also Wikisaurus:steal

Derived terms

• snatcher
• purse snatcher
• upsnatch

Translations

to grasp quickly

• Finnish: napata (fi), siepata (fi)

• Russian: хватать (ru) (xvatátʹ)  impf., схватить (ru) (sxvatítʹ)  pf.

to grasp and remove

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 搶走 (cmn), 抢走 (cmn) (qiǎngzǒu), 搶 (cmn), 抢 (cmn) (qiǎng), 搶奪 (cmn), 抢夺 (cmn) (qiǎngduó), 奪 (cmn), 夺 (cmn) (duó)

• Finnish: napata (fi), siepata (fi)

• Japanese: 奪う (ja) (うばう, ubau)
• Russian: выхватывать (ru) (vyxvátyvatʹ)  impf., выхватить (ru) (výxvatitʹ)  pf.

to steal

• Dutch: afpakken, wegpikken, graaien, weggraaien
• Finnish: näpistää (fi), napata (fi), siepata (fi)
• French: attraper rapidement
• German: klauen (de), stehlen (de)
• Ido: kaptar

• Italian: scippare (it)
• Japanese: 奪う (ja) (うばう, ubau)
• Russian: стащить (ru) (staščítʹ)  pf.
• Spanish: raptar (es)

to snatch a victory

• Finnish: napata (fi)

• Italian: strappare (it)

to do quickly

• Finnish: vilkaista (fi) (look, view); haukata (fi) (bite to eat); siemaista (fi), kulauttaa (fi) (sthg to drink); kopata (fi), napata (fi) (an object)

Noun

snatch (plural snatches)

1. A quick grab or catch.

   The leftfielder makes a nice snatch to end the inning.

2. (weightlifting) A competitive weightlifting event in which a barbell is lifted from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement.
3. A piece of some sound, usually music or conversation.

   I heard a snatch of Mozart as I passed the open window.

4. (vulgar slang) A vulva.
   • 1962, Douglas Woolf, Wall to Wall,^[1] Grove Press, page 83,

     Claude, is it true what they say about Olovia? Of course she’s getting a little old for us—what about Marilyum, did you try her snatch?

   • 1985, Jackie Collins, Lucky,^[2] Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0671524933, page 150,

     Roughly Santino ripped the sheet from the bed, exposing all of her. She had blond hair on her snatch, which drove him crazy. He was partial to blondes.

   • 2008, Jim Craig, North to Disaster,^[3] Bushak Press, ISBN 0961711213, page 178,

     “ […] You want me to ask Brandy to let you paint her naked body with all this gooey stuff to make a mold of her snatch?”

Synonyms

• (vagina): cunt, twat

Translations

quick grab or catch

• Dutch: graai m

competitive weightlifting event

• Finnish: tempaus (fi)
• French: arraché (fr) m

• German: Reißen (de) n
• Spanish: arrancada (es) f, arranque (es) m

piece of sound

• Finnish: katkelma (fi)

• French: bribe (fr) f

vagina

• Dutch: doos (nl) f

• Portuguese: buceta (pt) f

Etymology 2

Noun

snatch (plural snatches)

1. The handle of a scythe; a snead.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Anagrams

• chants
• stanch