snatch
2
9.9
- 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.
-
"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
344
4.6
To take someone away by force or trick to ask for money
144
7.1
Taking someone away by force without permission, often a child
120
3.2
The act of taking control of another person or their land by force
Antonyms
Idioms
2
9.6
A team or person loses an almost certain win in the final minute because of a mistake
Compounds
- Specialized
1
9.3
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.