nab
verbnounattested in dialogue
- //næb//
To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
verb
- 1
informalTo seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
As I was going out of the door, a fellow detective came hurriedly in. "Nabbed them," cried he.
Their target: a drug kingpin who reportedly keeps millions of dollars in his fortress of a compound. Pope has been working for years to nab this baddie, and sincerely wants to stop his reign of terror,)
- 2
informalTo grab or snatch something.
- 3
To steal or copy another user's post.
Etymology
From dialectal nap (“to seize, lay hold of”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Swedish nappa (“to pluck, pinch”). Related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian Bokmål nappe (“to grab, snatch, pluck, yank”).
noun
- 1
The summit of a hill.
At Clayton point and other nabs to the south of Scarborough.
‘I thought I heard my father,’ he gasped, glancing up to the frowning nab above us. ‘You are sure nobody spoke?’
- 2
The cock of a gunlock.
The Toe, or Nab of the Bolt, which rises[…]above the Straight on the Top of the Bolt: The Office of this Nab, is to receive the Bottom of the Bit of the Key, when in turning it about, it shoots the Bolt backward or forwards.
- 3
The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.
the Bottom of the Bit may fall almost to the Bottom of the Nab , and shoot the Bolt back
Etymology
Compare knap, knop, knob.
Forms
- plural
- nabs
- past tense
- nabbed
- past participle
- nabbed
- present participle
- nabbing
- third person singular
- nabs
nab · To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
nacho · A single tortilla chip from a dish of nachos.nachos · A Mexican dish of tortilla chips, covered in melted cheese…nada · Nothing.