How to Use smash-and-grab in a Sentence

smash-and-grab

adjective
  • These aren’t smash-and-grab jobs.
    — Chris Spear, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • This was not a smash-and-grab from Atleti.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • This was not a smash-and-grab attack.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Jan. 2026
  • There have even been reports of smash-and-grab thefts of stores that stock cards.
    — Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 22 May 2026
  • Most smash-and-grab thieves aren’t going to take the time to try and cut it loose.
    — Travis Smola, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2023
  • This was more complicated than a smash-and-grab win.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
  • During the smash-and-grab, a worker at the kiosk was pepper sprayed.
    — Tim Fang, CBS News, 14 May 2026
  • The adrenaline from a smash-and-grab of this kind is difficult to match.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 July 2026
  • Yet residents and businesses are on edge with smash-and-grab thefts.
    — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
  • At least seven people are now charged in connection to that smash-and-grab, which then led to the fatal crash.
    — Alexis McAdams, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2025
  • However street crimes, such as smash-and-grab raids on stores, home robberies and carjackings, have spiked.
    — Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
  • Overpayment scams remind us that theft does not always involve smash-and-grab techniques.
    — Morey Haber, Forbes.com, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The deputies received another report of a smash-and-grab shortly thereafter.
    — Helena Gunderson, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
  • At first glance, Sunderland’s 2-1 win at Chelsea looks like a smash-and-grab upset.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
  • The actual robbers are realizing that what seemed like a low-stakes smash-and-grab has put a bounty on their heads as well.
    — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2024
  • This isn’t the first smash-and-grab theft to strike a Gucci store in California this summer.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Feel free to retain the mental image of his epic smash-and-grab catch over teammate Kiké Hernández.
    — Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
  • At least part of the point of the smash-and-grab operation in Venezuela was to display raw military power.
    — Comfort Ero, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
  • In that moment, the smash-and-grab sound and head-bangers-on-overkill vibe of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was born.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Commercial robbery, which includes thefts in which force is used or threatened (like some smash-and-grab thefts), was up about 13% in that same time frame.
    — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023
  • In one case, two teens have been arrested and charged with smash-and-grab burglaries that targeted gas stations and convenience stores.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 28 Apr. 2025
  • His opponents have blamed him for a rise in property crimes in some parts of the county, including a brazen smash-and-grab spree at luxury stores.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, 29 Feb. 2024
  • The sides in fifth and sixth will host the teams in seventh and eighth in one-off matches, which definitely won’t lead to dull low blocks and smash-and-grab wins from the away side.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Chelsea and Chloe are gossiping about their boyfriends and trying on clothes at the hotel boutique when an armed robber comes in for a little smash-and-grab.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Budgets that guarantee safe neighborhoods free of gun violence, smash-and-grab robberies and assaults.
    — Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Eleven people have been arrested so far in connection with a series of smash-and-grab thefts from gun stores in the Greater Cincinnati area.
    — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 17 Sep. 2024
  • Some were angry on behalf of the gas station owner, shaking their heads at the mess left behind in yet another Chicago smash-and-grab.
    — Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • As retail stores face smash-and-grab invasions, Amazon’s online shopping is assailed by the government.
    — WSJ, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Chicago police are searching for a smash-and-grab crew that targeted two clothing stores on the city's West Side earlier this month.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 27 Nov. 2025
  • In November, Olde Town shops experienced a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries.
    — Claire Lavezzorio, The Denver Post, 2 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smash-and-grab.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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