nab

See also: NAB, nǟb, and na b'

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /næb/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -æb

Etymology 1

From earlier knab, a variant of knap; but also from nap, of North Germanic origin, related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian nappe (“to pluck”).

Alternative forms

Verb

nab (third-person singular simple present nabs, present participle nabbing, simple past and past participle nabbed)

  1. (informal, transitive) To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
    • 1887, Anna Katharine Green, 7 to 12, A Detective Story, G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 2:
      As I was going out of the door, a fellow detective came hurriedly in. "Nabbed them," cried he.
  2. (informal, transitive) To grab or snatch something.
Synonyms
  • (To arrest a criminal or fugitive): nick, bust
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Compare knap, knop, knob.

Noun

nab (plural nabs)

  1. The summit of an eminence.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
  2. The cock of a gunlock.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  3. (locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Anagrams

Kurdish

Adjective

nab

  1. pure

White Hmong

Noun

nab

  1. snake
  2. worm

Derived terms

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