grabn.1
/ɡrab/, U.S. /ɡræb/ Anglo-Indian.
A large coasting-vessel, drawing very little water, built with a prow and usually two-masted, used in the East (see quots. 1763, 1839).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > vessel with specific number of masts > types of vessel with two masts > other two-masted vessels
dogger1338
hooker1641
dogger-boat1646
bilander1656
saic1667
grab1680
frigatoon1721
sandal1753
koff1794
sumack1805
quay punt1876
sinagot1927
1680 R. Morden Geogr. Rectified (1685) 405 The desperate attacks made..by 1500 of his men in three Ships and four Grabs.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 174 Admiral of his Fleet of Grobs and Boats.
1763 R. Orme Hist. Mil. Trans. Brit. Nation I. 401 The grabs have rarely more than two masts, although some have three;..they are built to draw very little water, being very broad in proportion to their length, narrowing however from the middle to the end, where instead of bows they have a prow.
1773 E. Ives Voy. India 43 One Grab of 18 guns, and several other vessels.
1823 R. Heber Jrnl. 7 Oct. in Narr. Journey Upper Provinces India (1828) I. i. 9 Their grabs, which still have an elongated bow,..are described as often very fine vessels.
1839 H. Malcom Trav. II. 357 Gloss., Grab, a square-rigged Arab coasting vessel, having a very projecting stem, and no bowsprit. It has two masts.
1878 E. J. Trelawny Rec. Shelley, Byron (1887) 84 A Persian dhow, an Arab grab, or a Chinese junk.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
grab-brig n.
ΚΠ
1831 E. J. Trelawny Adventures Younger Son I. 177 De Ruyter now took me on board of an Arab grab brig.
grab-ketch n.
ΚΠ
1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. II. 40 His fleet..consisted of eight grab-ketches [etc.].
grab-snow n.
ΚΠ
1806 Naval Chron. 15 470 The Grab Snow Generous Friends,..burthen about two hundred tons.
grab-vessel n.
ΚΠ
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Chron. 22/2 They perceived a grab vessel at anchor.
C2.
grab-service n. (see quot. 1867).
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Grab service, country vessels first employed by the Bombay government against the pirates; afterwards erected into the Bombay Marine.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
grabn.2
/ɡrab/, U.S. /ɡræb/ 1.
a. A quick sudden clutch, grasp, seizure, or attempt to seize. Also figurative (cf. sense 1b); to have the grab on (slang): to have great advantage of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > [noun]
nomea1300
arrestc1386
seizingc1400
rugging1507
rapping1541
grasping1546
seizement1581
expropriation1626
possessionc1693
grabbing1788
grab1835
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > [noun] > laying hold or seizing > suddenly or eagerly > sudden or violent grasp
snatch1587
click1824
clutch1833
grab1835
1835 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker 1st Ser. viii He makes a grab at me, and I shuts the door right to on his wrist.
1839 F. Marryat Diary in Amer. II. 111 I rose gently with both hands ready for a grab.
1857 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1856–7 2 287 Hotel-keepers would not act as if it was the last and only grab.
1859 T. De Quincey Incognito (rev. ed.) in Select. Grave & Gay XI. 3 The chairman, unable to control his impatience, made a grab at it.
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xxi. 429 The railroads, of course, get the first grab, their land is already secured.
b. The action or practice of grabbing. game of grab (perhaps cf. sense 5 and grab-game n. at Compounds 2), policy of grab: in recent journalistic use often applied opprobriously to rapacious proceedings in political or commercial affairs. grab and keep: commercial rapacity and selfishness. on the grab: intent on gain. up for grabs: open to offer; easily obtainable (slang (chiefly U.S.)).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > [noun] > unscrupulous or rapacious
scamblingc1538
whale1606
game of grab1883
the mind > possession > acquisition > acquisition or loss [phrase] > easily obtainable
up for grabs1945
rent-a-crowd1961
the mind > possession > giving > offer or action of offering > [adjective] > offered > open to offer
up for grabs1945
1883 Ld. Wemyss in St. James's Gaz. 16 July They..are playing a game of ‘grab’ for the farmer's vote.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Sept. 3/1 The fatal inauguration of the policy of grab by Lord Beaconsfield in 1878.
1888 Daily News 12 Dec. 4/8 Part of a policy called by fine people annexation and by common people grab.
1893 W. Besant Ivory Gate 236 The selfishness of mankind as illustrated by the universal game of Grab.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 24 Nov. 1/3 The newly invented game of ‘grab’ in Africa.
1905 ‘G. Thorne’ Lost Cause ii They've nothing to get by it..and that flatters 'em because they're always on the grab in every other way.
1905 Daily Chron. 9 May 3/1 The grab-and-keep of towns.
1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 35 Up for grabs, easy to make gal.
1954 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang (ed. 2) §356/7 Up for grabs, easy to pick up.
1967 Boston Globe 5 Apr. 51/5 Right now every position is up for grabs. Every player is going to get a shot.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. B3/3 At the time that General Bakeries made its bid, Mr. Conrad said the Ogilvie companies appeared to be ‘up for grabs’.
1971 Financial Mail (Johannesburg) 26 Feb. 675/2 So the hotel reservations set-up looks up for grabs.
2. The thing grabbed. Scottish.
ΚΠ
1777 M. Hunter Jrnl. (1894) 27 Grab was a favourite expression among the Light Infantry, and meant any plunder taken by force.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. Grabs, little prizes.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Grab,..the number of objects thus seized.
3. One who grabs:
a. A body-snatcher, resurrectionist.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > bodysnatcher > [noun]
resurrectionist1777
resurrection man1781
resurrection woman1815
body snatcher1819
resurrection cove1819
resurrectioner1822
resurrection jarvey1825
grab1831
snatcher1831
body lifter1832
all-night man1861
resurrector1861
1831 S. Warren in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 961/2 Sir ——'s dressers, and myself, with an experienced ‘grab’, that is to say, a professional resurrectionist—were to set off from the Borough.
b. A catchpoll, bumbailiff, policeman. Perhaps Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > official who executes orders of court > bailiff
beadlec1000
ridemanlOE
cacherela1325
outrider1332
bailiff1377
catchpolea1382
bailiec1386
officer?1387
sheriff's manc1400
attacher1440
messenger1482
tipped staffc1500
servitor1527
bailie-errant1528
processar1534
bum-bailiff1560
tipstaff1570
nut-hook1600
saffo1607
servera1612
bailiff-errant1612
bum-bailey1615
process servera1616
buckle-bosom1622
bumbee1653
exploiter1653
moar1656
bum1659
bummer1675
bumbail1696
bulldog1699
sheriff's officer1703
bum-trap1749
bound-bailiff1768
shelly-coata1774
body snatcher1778
lurcher1785
fool-finder1796
messenger1801
bugaboo1809
borough-bailiff1812
sheriff mair1812
speciality1815
grab1823
legalist1835
candy man1863
writter1882
sheriff1928
1823 Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1824) 178 When bailiffs and grabs hunt us up in the East.
1849 A. R. Smith Pottleton Legacy xv. 123 Do you want to..have the grabs point at us as swindlers?
1958 Amer. Speech 33 225 Less frequently used among nonmusicians..are..shamus, fuzz, grab (all meaning policeman).
c. gen.
ΚΠ
1919 B. Booth in H. Begbie Life Wm. Booth (1920) ii. 24 My father was a Grab, a Get.
4. A mechanical device or implement for clutching or gripping objects (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun]
grapple1571
clamp1688
grip1857
gripper1857
grab1865
grapnel1875
1865 A. M. Eaton Diary 14 Oct. in W. Pennsylvania Hist. Mag. (1935) 18 205 We saw a ‘grab’ an instrument designed to get out tools stuck in any well.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Grab,..the term is especially applied to devices for withdrawing pipes, drills, reamers, etc., from artesian, oil, and other wells.
1881 Proc. Instit. Civil Engineers 65 312 A modification of the bucket [dredger]..with strong curved steel arms..to which the makers have given the name of ‘grab’.
1881 Standard 16 Nov. 2/5 The accident was caused by the plate having slipped from the ‘grab’ by which it was being lifted.
1893 Times 10 July 13/6 Grain cargoes..discharged..by the use of hydraulic cranes and tubs or Priestman's grabs.
1897 Daily News 10 Sept. 8/5 Hydraulic cranes drop down their ‘grabs’ into the loose grain in the hold of the vessel like a huge pair of jaws. They come up the next instant with a mouthful of about three-quarters of a ton, and spit it out into a hopper.
1955 Times 19 May 7/6 Cranes and mechanical grabs heave up loads of what the council call ‘reluctant London clay’.
5.
a. A children's card game, in which when two or more cards of equal value are on the table together the player who is quickest to recognize and ‘grab’ them adds them to his own hand. Cf. also animal n. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > children's or simple games > [noun]
snap snorum1622
beggar-my-neighbour1734
snip-snap-snorum1755
old maid1831
pounce commerce1847
muggins1855
happy families1861
author1863
snap1881
strip-jack-naked1881
spoof1884
animal grab1894
grab1900
donkey1920
1900 in N.E.D.
1941 H. G. Wells You can't be too Careful ii. i. 46 They had a pack of real cards..and gambled with them at Beat your Neighbour out of doors and Grab.
b. Chess. Applied to a particular class of problems: in full grab theme. (See quot. 19131.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > problems
jeopardyc1369
problem1817
Indian problem1846
mover1868
Indian1878
retractive problem1890
waiting problem1891
retractor1893
help-mate1897
sui1897
miniature1903
waiter1906
grab theme1909
fairy chess1914
King's (or Queen's) Indian1931
1909 A. C. White Knights & Bishops p. iii.
1913 A. C. White Sam Loyd 357 The Grab Theme... The theme includes, in its broadest sense, all problems where a Black piece is captured on two or more squares... In its narrower sense it is limited to the problems where a particular Black piece is captured on two or more squares by a single White piece or by two White pieces of the same kind.
1913 A. C. White Sam Loyd 359 The Grab by the concerted action of the two White Knights is extremely pretty.
1943 B. Harley Mate in Three Moves 52 The grab theme..is essentially a brutal and monotonous business.
1963 M. Lipton et al. Chess Probl. 259 A doubling of the grab theme, in which a black unit is captured on a number of different squares, leading to zugzwang.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
grab-crane n.
ΚΠ
1895 Daily News 15 Apr. 8/2 [For sale by auction,] 30 steam, hand, and grab cranes.
grab-digger n.
ΚΠ
1936 Oxoniensia 1 81 Without their ready co-operation and their keenness to save everything possible from the very teeth of their ‘grab’-digger, we should not have been able to record and preserve such a wealth of detail in advance of the gravel-digging.
grab dredger n.
ΚΠ
1909 Man. Seamanship (H.M.S.O.) II. xiii. 224 In hard ground it would be necessary to loosen the earth..or dig a hole with a grab dredger.
grab-iron n.
grab-line n.
grab-machine n.
ΚΠ
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Sept. 11/1 Priestman's grab machine is now set to work to excavate the earth from the centre of the caisson.
C2.
grab-bag n. U.S. at fancy fairs a bag containing various articles, into which one may dip on payment of a certain sum; also figurative.
ΚΠ
1855 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ Doesticks, what he Says xvi. 135 [A] young woman wanted me to invest in the ‘grab bag’; [I] gave half a dollar, and fished in.
1879 N.Y. Tribune 23 Sept. It is a grab-bag from which every disappointed politician hopes to draw a prize.
1886 Harper's Mag. Jan. 237 The woodman's axe now resounded with the busy notes of preparation for a dive into nature's great grab-bag.
1960 20th Cent. May 460 Sociology is the great intellectual grab-bag of our times.
1967 Canadian Ann. Rev. 1966 6 It met strong resistance from those who supported the traditional formula of a grab-bag of promises.
1967 C. O. Skinner Madame Sarah (new ed.) xii. 269 Sarah would hold out a grab bag from which each child drew a number.
grab bar n. a bar fitted as a handhold, esp. one grasped for stabilization or support.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > (a) handhold
stayc1515
holdfast1566
hand rest1819
handlebar1844
handhold1845
grasp-hold1851
grab bar1959
1959 Home Safety Rev. Winter 21/2 Install grab bars next to bathtub and in showers.
1967 Gloss. Caravan Terms (B.S.I.) 2 Grab bars, grab handles, bars or handles fitted to the outside of the bodywork to assist in manhandling the caravan.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 10/2 (advt.) Bathroom safety aids..grab bars and safety rails.
1985 New Age Winter 22/2 Corridors, passages and bathrooms should have hand-rails; and one or two ‘grab bars’ might be worth considering for the bedroom.
grab bucket n. = bucket n.1 3b.
ΚΠ
1885 Marine Engin. 1 Aug. 139/2 (heading) Recent applications for patents..7333 C. W. Hunt. Dredging or grab buckets.
grab-coup n. = grab-game n. (a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > scheme > specific
grab-coup1823
grab-game1846
prop game1966
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Grab-coup, modern practice of gambling, adopted by the losers, thus the person cheated or done, takes his opportunity, makes a dash at the depository of money, or such as may be down for the play and grabs as much as possible, pockets the proceeds, and fights his way out of the house.
grab-game n. (a) (see quot. 1859); (b) the policy of ‘grabbing’ territories, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > scheme > specific
grab-coup1823
grab-game1846
prop game1966
1846 R. B. Sage Scenes Rocky Mts. xxxii. 282 Provided you won't attempt the grab game on us.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) Grab Game, a mode of swindling or rather stealing, practised by sharpers..Bets are made..when a dispute is purposely planned, in the midst of which one of the confederates seizes or ‘grabs’ the money at stake and runs off. The term is also used in a more general sense to signify stealing and making off with the booty.
1864 R. B. Kimball Was he Successful? ix. 116 A bold, daring, unscrupulous man, who, in the language of his acquaintances, practised the grab-game.
1895 Forum (N.Y.) May 265 This eventuated in preventing the grab-game of France.
grab handle n. a handle fitted in a motor car to assist passengers entering or alighting, or to steady them when the car is moving.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > handle to steady passengers
grab handle1959
1959 Observer 1 Mar. 21/6 The..walnut screen rail with grab handle.
1961 Times 28 Mar. 4/6 Large ‘grab’ handles of a flexible material fitted to the roof above each of the four doors are useful when passengers are entering or leaving.
1970 Motoring Which? Apr. 50/1 Armrests were only fair, but the passenger had a good grab handle.
grab-hook n. any hook for grabbing, spec. (see quot. a1887); (in plural) Nautical slang fingers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > other fishing equipment > [noun] > prongs or hooks for landing fish
grab-hook1608
gaff1656
weir-hook1688
pew1765
click-hookc1810
picaroon1837
gaff-hook1844
pew-gaffa1884
fish-gaff1887
snigger1901
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun]
fingerOE
talons1594
nimblesa1637
the ten stealers1655
Welsh comb1788
forks1819
hooks1829
fingerlet1836
bread hook1845
dactyl1889
grab-hook1946
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 170 Taking vppe theyr Nettes, at one place they did hang so fast as without breaking they could not pull them out of the water, wher fore they sette theyr Grabbe-hookes vnto them to loose them.
a1887 R. Jefferies Field & Hedgerow (1889) 179 The grapnel kept at every village draw-well is called the grab-hook.
1889 Cent. Dict. Grab-hook, in angling, a hook made by fixing four large fish-hooks in a piece of lead.
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 38 Grab hook, a hook having a narrow throat, adapted to grasp any link of a chain.
1946 J. Irving Royal Navalese 86 Grabhooks, fingers.
grab-racket n. U.S. a disorderly scramble, in which each person ‘grabs’ what he can.
ΚΠ
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xiv. 219 Now boss!..is this to be run shipshape? or is it a Dutch grab-racket?
grab rail n.
ΚΠ
1963 Times 21 May 5/6 Sensible points include a padded grab~rail.
grab strap n. a rail or strap inside a motor vehicle for standing passengers to hold.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > bus or tram with specific number of decks > rail or strap for standing passengers to hold
strap1842
grab strap1955
1955 E. K. Wenlock Kitchin's Road Transport Law (ed. 10) 94 A clear height of 5 ft 10 in excluding any grab rail or strap shall extend over all space intended for use by standing passengers.
Draft additions July 2011
A still image obtained from a film or video sequence, esp. by digital means; an instance of obtaining such an image. Also: = grabber n. Additions. Usually with modifying word.frame grab, screen grab, video grab: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1975 U.S. Patent 3,875,329 8 The frame grab logic..contains a conventional logic comparator.
1985 Broadcasting (Nexis) 8 Apr. 49 A ‘real-time grab’, which takes a single frame of video from a VTR with proper NTSC mapping components.
1996 Mini-Micro-Systems May 1 (heading) Image grab and display for multimedia computer.
2008 A. Boyd et al. Broadcast Journalism (ed. 6) xxviii. 331 Most TV stations will have a stock of freeze frames or grabs of leading politicians.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
grabv.
/ɡrab/, U.S. /ɡræb/ 1. transitive. To grasp or seize suddenly and eagerly; hence, to appropriate to oneself in a rapacious or unscrupulous manner. to grab hold of (cf. hold n.1 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp > quickly or suddenly
cleeka1400
nipa1500
grab1589
snatch1590
snap1688
scrab1890
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > seize [verb (transitive)] > unscrupulously or rapaciously
wipec1000
scamble1599
ruffle1608
scramble1647
grab1801
1589 J. Rider Bibliotheca Scholastica 674 To Grabbe, or grabble, vide to graple.
1801 A. Wilson Let. 7 Aug. in Poems & Lit. Prose (1876) I. 86 Old..witches..butter from churns are eternally grabbing.
1820 J. W. Croker in S. Smiles Publisher & Friends (1891) II. xxiii. 86 I will go to the Museum and grab them, as my betters have done before me.
1873 G. C. Davies Mountain, Meadow & Mere xviii. 164 He grabbed it hard and fast.
1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic cvii How did it happen that gross Humbug grabbed Thy weapons?
1881 Macmillan's Mag. 45 39 Little dark-brown creatures..armed each with four needle-like talons, ready to grab cruelly the hand put within reach.
1888 Times (Weekly ed.) 21 Dec. 16/3 You had done what is called ‘grab’ that land.
1894 Forum (N.Y.) Dec. 401 John Bull is not habitually slow to run up his flag on any available spot he may safely grab.
1894 A. Conan Doyle Mem. Sherlock Holmes 123 The fellows evidently grabbed hold of anything they could get.
1900 A. E. Bayly & W. Briscoe Chrons. Country Cricket Club (1908) x. 111 I was walking outside the cricket grounds and you grabbed hold of me.
2.
a. To ‘collar’, capture, or arrest (a person).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)]
at-holda1230
attacha1325
resta1325
takec1330
arrest1393
restay?a1400
tachec1400
seisinc1425
to take upa1438
stowc1450
seize1471
to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515
deprehend1532
apprehend1548
nipa1566
upsnatcha1566
finger1572
to make stay of1572
embarge1585
cap1590
reprehend1598
prehenda1605
embar1647
nap1665
nab1686
bone1699
roast1699
do1784
touch1785
pinch1789
to pull up1799
grab1800
nick1806
pull1811
hobble1819
nail1823
nipper1823
bag1824
lag1847
tap1859
snaffle1860
to put the collar on1865
copper1872
to take in1878
lumber1882
to pick up1887
to pull in1893
lift1923
drag1924
to knock off1926
to put the sleeve on1930
bust1940
pop1960
vamp1970
1800 Sporting Mag. 16 26 Agreed to grab about a dozen old acquaintances.
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) The pigs grabbed the kiddey for a crack.
1829 Ann. Reg. 117 He is sure Benning did not grab, or endeavour to collar Wickliffe.
a1845 R. H. Barham Brothers of Birchington in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 3rd Ser. 266 My bailiff grabb'd Dick when he should have nabb'd Bob.
1894 H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Romance 115 A very dangerous young criminal..whom I reckon we won't be able to grab in a hurry.
b. To arrest the attention of (a person); to make an impression on. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > engage the attention [verb (transitive)]
exercisea1538
entertainc1540
replenish1548
rouse1583
catcha1586
amuse1586
detainc1595
attract1599
grope1602
concerna1616
take1634
stay1639
engage1642
meet1645
nudge1675
strike1697
hitcha1764
seize1772
interest1780
acuminate1806
arrest1835
grip1891
intrigue1894
grab1966
work1969
1966 Gramophone Popular Record Catal. Dec. (Artist section) 190/2 Sinatra, Nancy... How Does That Grab You? Not the lovin' kind; Shadow of your smile;..How does that grab you darlin'?; Bang, bang.
1968 Canadian Mag. 15 June 27/2 D'you think that will grab them?
1970 Daily Tel. 18 Sept. (Colour Suppl.) 46/4 I suppose, as my daughter puts it, ‘life is whatever grabs you’.
1971 Post (S. Afr.) 9 May (Cape ed.) 9/5 Elton John is big but if his music doesn't grab you then it just doesn't grab you.
3.
a. intransitive. To make a grab or snatch at (U.S. for).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp > grasp at or clutch at
snatch1530
reach1542
to catch at ——1578
snap1673
to grasp at1677
clutch1834
grabble1837
seize1848
grab1852
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin (U.K. ed.) xii. 107 A stick of candy, which he eagerly grabbed at.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxxvii. 325 She stretched out her hand to grab at the ledger.
1885 N.Y. Weekly Sun 13 May 5/1 He made a jump for the knife and Short grabs for it at the same time.
b. Of the brakes of a motor vehicle: to act harshly or jerkily.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > move on wheels [verb (intransitive)] > specific action of brakes
grab1919
fade1940
1919 E. S. Fraser & R. B. Jones Motor Vehicles xxxi. 328 If the brakes grab or screech a few drops of castor oil..may stop the trouble.
1962 Which? July (Suppl.) 90/1 The brakes ‘grabbed’ very badly, because the friction pad assemblies on the front wheels had moved in the caliper units.
4. slang. to grab on: to get along, live.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [verb (intransitive)]
liveeOE
aliveeOE
ylivec950
won971
goc1225
movea1325
breathea1382
reigna1400
to pass on earth (also mould)c1400
to draw (one's) breath?1570
exist1578
respire1619
to tread clay, this earth, shoe leather1789
to grab on1861
to store the kin1866
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 139/1 Between the two I do manage to grab on somehow.
Compounds
grab-all n. (a) one who grabs everything, a rapacious person; (b) a bag to carry odds and ends (Farmer Slang 1893).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > [noun] > unscrupulous or rapacious > one who
grab-all1872
1872 Sunday Times 18 Aug. 2/3 The mean and contemptible grab-alls of that government which professes to study the people's interest.
1895 S. R. Crockett Men of Moss-hags xxiii. 163 Robert Grier of Lag, who was a very grab-all among them.
Derivatives
grabbed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > [adjective] > seized
yfongc1000
seized1837
grabbed1891
1891 Star 5 Nov. 4/1 The grabbed rights of way mentioned recently.
ˈgrabbing n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > seizing > [noun]
nomea1300
arrestc1386
seizingc1400
rugging1507
rapping1541
grasping1546
seizement1581
expropriation1626
possessionc1693
grabbing1788
grab1835
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > [noun] > laying hold or seizing > suddenly or eagerly
snatchery?1553
grabbing1788
1788 W. Eden in G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 74 There remained merely the finding and grabbing some respectable office for life.
1895 Daily News 25 Oct. 6/3 The Chitral principality is now within the English sphere, to borrow a term which international diplomacy owes to the grabbing-up of Africa.
1919 E. S. Fraser & R. B. Jones Motor Vehicles xxii. 235 Cone clutches are usually faced with leather..the leather becomes hard and dry resulting in ‘grabbing’.
1959 Motor Man. (ed. 36) iv. 71 Quite elaborate springing arrangements may be built into the clutch disc to avoid ‘grabbing’ when the friction surfaces are just on the point of gripping.
Draft additions July 2011
transitive. To obtain (an individual frame or still image) from a film or video sequence; to select (a chosen portion) of video or audio data, typically in digital form. Cf. grab n.2 Additions, grabber n. Additions.
ΚΠ
1972 N.Y. Times 5 Mar. iii. 9/5 Each Lithocon tube will grab the TV frame derived from the microfilm image selected by the computer every thirtieth of a second.
1985 Acorn User Feb. 153/2 Pages from other viewdata systems may be grabbed and added to the main file.
1997 Web Aug. 7 (advt.) Just use the video capture card, which can capture video at up to 30 frames per second, to grab moving images directly from those sources.
2009 B. Cudnik Lunar Meteoroid Impacts 147 The usefulness of a frame grabber is that one can select and ‘grab’ the frames of choice if one notices a lunar impact candidate event. One can save these frames separately and later use them to analyze the event.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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