nab
pronunciation
How to pronounce nab in British English:
UK [næb]
How to pronounce nab in American English:
US [næb]
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- Verb:
- tag the base runner to get him out
- take into custody
- seize suddenly
Word Origin
- nab (v.)
- "to catch (someone)," 1680s, probably a variant of dialectal nap "to seize, catch, lay hold of" (1670s, now surviving only in kidnap), which possibly is from Scandinavian (compare Norwegian nappe, Swedish nappa "to catch, snatch;" Danish nappe "to pinch, pull"); reinforced by Middle English napand "grasping, greedy." Related: Nabbed; nabbing. Nabbing-cull was old slang for "constable," and Farmer & Henley has "TO NAB THE STIFLES = to be hanged."
Example
- 1. But I 'll nab that guy some day !
- 2. The kidnappers have begun to nab children , as well as foreign oil workers , politicians and ordinary nigerians .
- 3. Guards saw a suspect fleeing the scene early monday but failed to nab him , feng said .
- 4. A video helped police nab the suspect .
- 5. Black beast ...... when will they nab him ?