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nab

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nab¹

  • /næb/

Rhymes with -æb

Where it comes from

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”).

verb nabs · nabbing · nabbed · knab

  1. informal, transitive To 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.

    Similar: nick, bust, cop

  2. informal, transitive To grab or snatch something.
  3. Internet, transitive To steal or copy another user's post.

nab²

  • /næb/

Rhymes with -æb

Where it comes from

Compare knap, knop, knob.

noun nabs

  1. The summit of a hill. At Clayton point and other nabs to the south of Scarborough.
  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

NAB³

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of National Australia Bank
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of National Association of Broadcasters
  3. Pakistan, abbreviation Abbreviation of National Accountability Bureau

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: apprehend, arrest, pick up, collar, nail, cop, capture, seize, catch, grab, snatch, detain, ban, pinch, dab, ran

Translations

Every language

verb to seize a criminal

中文逮捕 dàibǔ
Deutschschnappen
Русскийхвата́ть xvatátʹ, схвати́ть sxvatítʹ

verb to grab or snatch

Françaischoper, pogner
Deutschschnappen
Русскийхвата́ть xvatátʹ, схвати́ть sxvatítʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"nab." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nab. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

nab. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nab

Chicago

"nab." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nab.

BibTeX
@misc{nab_2026,
  title = {nab},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nab},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}