Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nab

/næb/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.12 in modern English

Syllables: nab
IPA: /næb/

5

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To grab or snatch something.

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To steal or copy another user's post.

Transitive verb

noun

The summit of a hill.

noun

The cock of a gunlock.

noun

The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.

name

Initialism of National Australia Bank.

name

Initialism of National Association of Broadcasters.

Example Sentences

"As I was going out of the door, a fellow detective came hurriedly in. "Nabbed them," cried he."
"Their target: a drug kingpin who reportedly keeps millions of dollars in his fortress of a compound. Pope has been working for years to nab this baddie, and sincerely wants to stop his reign of terror,)"
"At Clayton point and other nabs to the south of Scarborough."
"‘I thought I heard my father,’ he gasped, glancing up to the frowning nab above us. ‘You are sure nobody spoke?’"
"The Toe, or Nab of the Bolt, which rises[…]above the Straight on the Top of the Bolt: The Office of this Nab, is to receive the Bottom of the Bit of the Key, when in turning it about, it shoots the Bolt backward or forwards."
"the Bottom of the Bit may fall almost to the Bottom of the Nab , and shoot the Bolt back"

Etymology

From dialectal nap (“to seize, lay hold of”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Swedish nappa (“to pluck, pinch”). Related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian Bokmål nappe (“to grab, snatch, pluck, yank”).

Word Breakdown

Root: -, nappa

Usage

Inflected Forms

nabs (present, singular) nabbing (participle, present) nabbed (participle, past) nabbed (past) knab (alternative) nabs (plural)

Derived Forms

kidnap nabber nabman tabnabbing unnabbed

Phrases

hab or nab nab the rust

Synonyms

nick bust cop collar nail apprehend arrest pick up

Homonyms

knab

Rhymes With

grab lab ab tab cab stab crab slab fab jab dab drab

Questions

How do you pronounce nab?: The recorded pronunciation is /næb/.
What does nab mean?: To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
Where does nab come from?: From dialectal nap (“to seize, lay hold of”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Swedish nappa (“to pluck, pinch”). Related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian Bokmål nappe (“to grab, snatch, pluck, yank”).

How to pronounce nab

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nab”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/næb/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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