snatch
- noun
- /snæʧ/
- NSFW
- It's a simple snatch-and-grab.
Examples
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During the hearing, the judge described the crime as a particularly violent snatch that shocked the community.
-
Purse snatch.
-
It was meant to be a simple snatch job.
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"What about that snatch we did with that boy's dog over on Crittenden?" Potter looked in the rearview at White.
Fiction book (2002) -
Also typical was the use of "snatch squads" to physically chase down, tackle, and arrest targeted individuals (especially those perceived as "leaders") within crowds.
Academic text (2008) -
In some places, the youths hurled missiles at the police, who occasionally sent out snatch squads to arrest individual assailants.
Academic text (2011) -
The police are investigating a recent snatch that involved the abduction of several individuals.
-
Authorities issued a warning after a series of snatch incidents where victims were taken against their will.
Synonyms
Taking someone away by force without permission, often a child
The act of taking control of another person or their land by force
To take someone away by force or trick to ask for money
Antonyms
Idioms
A team or person loses an almost certain win in the final minute because of a mistake
Compounds
- Specialized
A pulley that opens so you can place a rope inside without passing the end through
How Violent
Surface Forms
Etymology
The legal noun snatch means the act of a sudden, forced grab of a person, and it comes from the verb sense of 'taking quickly'. That's why the word is used for abduction or kidnapping.