to grab a bite
30
2.9
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
comer algo
- I'm going to grab a bite to eat.
- grab a bite to eat
- go grab a bite
- wanna grab a bite
Whether you were at the grocery store grabbing a bite to eat.
- Whether you were at the grocery store grabbing a bite to eat.
Examples
-
Wanna grab a bite to eat?
-
We're gonna go grab a bite to eat.
-
I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat?
-
You guys wanna grab a bite?
-
Maybe you and I can grab a bite to eat.
-
You want to go grab a bite?
-
We had time to grab a bite to eat.
-
A few of us are going to grab a bite.
Fiction book (1992) -
Any chance you'd wanna go up to the pier, maybe grab a bite to eat?
-
Do you want to grab a bite after the meeting?
Synonyms
27
1.0
To eat a small amount of food between meals
19
3.0
To eat something quickly and eagerly
17
1.8
Eat a small amount of food as a quick snack
10
2.5
To eat small amounts of food between meals
3
1.4
To get and eat a sandwich quickly as a simple meal
1
7.7
To eat small amounts of food quickly and casually
To eat something quickly and enjoy it
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to have a quick meal' is directly inferable from combining 'grab' (take quickly) with 'a bite' (a small mouthful/snack): a B1 learner who knows both words can plausibly deduce taking a quick bite to eat. The construction is a common, compositional verb + noun phrase pattern and has close parallels in many languages, so it is likely immediately comprehensible to learners.
Etymology
Grab a bite comes from the simple image of quickly taking food: you grab something and eat a small bite when you have little time. That's why it means 'to have a quick, informal meal'.