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grab

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verb [transitive] British English pronunciation: grab /ɡræb/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theygrab
he/she/itgrabs
present participlegrabbing
past tensegrabbed
past participlegrabbed
  1. 1
    to take hold of something in a rough or rude way

    He grabbed the knife before I could get to it.

    One of the men was grabbed and bundled into a car.

    grab hold of:

    I grabbed hold of his hair.

    grab someone by something:

    Ben grabbed Marco by the arm.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  grabThesaurus entry for this meaning of grab
  2. 2
    to succeed in getting something, especially by being quick or by being the best at something

    We got there early and grabbed seats at the front.

    The brand now grabs 26 per cent of sales in the US.

    grab someone’s attention:

    It’s often the bad characters in a story who grab our attention.

    grab an opportunity/chance:

    I grabbed the chance to escape for a few minutes.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  grabThesaurus entry for this meaning of grab
  4. 4
    informal if you grab food or sleep, you eat quickly or sleep for a short time

    I’ll grab a sandwich back at the hotel.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  grabThesaurus entry for this meaning of grab

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