nab

See also: NAB, nǟb, and na b'

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /næb/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æb

Etymology 1

From earlier knab, a variant of knap; but also from nap, of North Germanic origin, related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian nappe (“to pluck”).

Alternative forms

• knab

Verb

nab (third-person singular simple present nabs, present participle nabbing, simple past and past participle nabbed)

1. (informal, transitive) To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
   • 1887, Anna Katharine Green, 7 to 12, A Detective Story, G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 2:

     As I was going out of the door, a fellow detective came hurriedly in. "Nabbed them," cried he.

2. (informal, transitive) To grab or snatch something.

Synonyms

• (To arrest a criminal or fugitive): nick, bust

Derived terms

• nabber
• kidnap

Translations

to seize a criminal

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 逮捕 (zh) (dàibǔ)

• Dutch: (slang) oppakken (nl)
• German: schnappen (de)

• Russian: хвата́ть (ru) impf (xvatátʹ), схвати́ть (ru) pf (sxvatítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: ухапсити, uhapsiti (sh)
• Swedish: haffa (sv)

to grab or snatch

• French: choper (fr) (Europe), pogner (fr) (Canada)
• German: schnappen (de)

• Russian: хвата́ть (ru) impf (xvatátʹ), схвати́ть (ru) pf (sxvatítʹ)

Etymology 2

Compare knap, knop, knob.

Noun

nab (plural nabs)

1. The summit of an eminence.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

2. The cock of a gunlock.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

3. (locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Anagrams

• ABN, BAN, BNA, Ban, NBA, ban

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Kurdish

Adjective

nab

1. pure

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White Hmong

Noun

nab

1. snake
2. worm

Derived terms

• ntses nab (“eel”)