nab

Meaning

Verb

1. (informal, transitive) To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
2. (informal, transitive) To grab or snatch something.
3. (Internet, transitive) To steal or copy another user's post.

Noun

1. The summit of a hill.
2. The cock of a gunlock.
3. The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.

Synonyms

grab

snatch

seize

arrest

catch

apprehend

capture

grasp

nail

clutch

pinch

collar

grapple

hook

🪝

pick up

get hold of

take

nick

grip

cop

👮

lag

nap

nibble

nip

nobble

notice

peck

perceive

poach

pop

rape

ravish

rifle

run across

run up against

scald

score

scrounge

snaffle

snag

snap

snap up

spoil

steal

sting

strike

surprise

take hold

take in charge

take into custody

Translations

schnappen

saisir

erwischen

afferrare

συλλαμβάνω

agafar

fassen

prendere

capturar

choper

اعتقل

greifen

αρπάζω

épingler

aangrijpen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/næb/

Etymology

Cognate with Danish: nappe

Cognate with Swedish: nappa

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: nappe

In summary

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”).