snatch
pronunciation
How to pronounce snatch in British English:
UK [snætʃ]
How to pronounce snatch in American English:
US [snætʃ]
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- Noun:
- a small fragment
- obscene terms for female genitals
- (law) the unlawful act of capturing and carrying away a person against their will and holding them in false imprisonment
- a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted overhead in one rapid motion
- the act of catching an object with the hands
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- Verb:
- to grasp hastily or eagerly
- to make grasping motions
- take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
Word Origin
- snatch
- snatch: see snack
- snatch (n.)
- c. 1300, "a trap, snare," from snatch (v.). Meaning "a sudden grab" is from 1570s; that of "a small amount" is from 1590s. Sense in weight-lifting is from 1928. Vulgar slang sense of "vulva" is recorded by 1903, perhaps 1864; a much older venereal sense was "sexual intercourse quickly performed" (1580s).
- snatch (v.)
- early 13c., "make a sudden snap or bite" (at something), of uncertain origin; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *snæccan or Middle Dutch snacken "to snatch, chatter." Compare snack (n.). Meaning "lay hold of suddenly" is from early 14c.; especially "take from someone's hands" (1580s). Weight-lifting sense is attested from 1928. Related: Snatched; snatching.
Example
- 1. The snatch and total weights were olympic records .
- 2. Should barack obama win , mr jindal could easily snatch that one last senate seat from ms landrieu .
- 3. He is puzzled , rather than vengeful , when other children snatch things from him or push him around .
- 4. Meanwhile , the chinese duel for gold turned into a one-man show as lu xiaojun lifted 175 kilograms in the snatch , beating his own world record by a kilogram .
- 5. The man who denied china its ninth gold medal in nine attempts in beijing - sa jae-hyouk of south korea - was injured in the snatch as his right arm buckled at the elbow .