nabbed

verb

past tense of nab
1
as in arrested
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law the officer nabbed the purse snatcher before he could escape

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grabbed
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly a pickpocket nabbed my wallet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nabbed Oppenheimer, of course, won Best Picture in 2024 and nabbed Nolan Best Director. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 An hour and a half later, a correctional officer from Montana nabbed 49-year-old Sophie Dennison-Gibby. — Matt Viser, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026 Some of these companies, including Thinking Machines, have nabbed substantial sums from investors before releasing any products. — Shirin Ghaffary, Fortune, 15 July 2026 Cillian Murphy nabbed an Oscar for his haunted performance as the former UC Berkeley professor and physicist whose groundbreaking work led to one of the most frightening, formidable scientific discoveries in all of mankind. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 July 2026 The 26-year-old actor nabbed a nom in the best guest actor in a comedy category Wednesday morning for his Saturday Night Live hosting gig. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026 Though Netflix’s rom-com nabbed a comedy series nomination, voters took the title to heart regarding its two leads, both of whom were nominated for its first season. — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 Shane Buechele Former Chiefs quarterback Shane Buechele nabbed an invite, too. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026 Brown also nabbed two Teen Choice Award wins for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress and Choice Summer TV Star for Stranger Things in 2018 and 2019, respectively. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nabbed
  1. arrested
  2. grabbed
  3. seized
  4. caught
  5. apprehended
  6. snatched
  7. captured
Verb
  • Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, was arrested Sunday, according to Miami-Dade booking records and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
    — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 27 July 2026
  • The woman was arrested and faces charges of discharging a firearm and evading arrest.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 July 2026
Definition of arrested
Verb
  • Smith grabbed Hicks near her throat and slammed her into the car and onto the pavement, according to Hicks’ attorney.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
  • Janet grabbed a roll of paper towels, ready to clean up the dirty drips that ran across her kitchen floor.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • The national retailers who seized the opportunity, in turn, helped make the neighborhood still more attractive to affluent newcomers and investors.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 27 July 2026
  • Tom Slingsby took the bull by the horns and seized an early lead to take a vital victory in Australia’s first heat.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 26 July 2026
Definition of seized
Verb
  • Everyone seems to be getting along except for Andriy and Bobby, who are already butting heads with Jude caught in the middle.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • The earliest reefs caught the attention of the North Carolina Division of Commercial Sports and Fisheries in the 1970s, now the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.
    — Laura Horne, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026
Definition of caught
Verb
  • The gunman who crashed through security at the Washington Hilton was apprehended and charged.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 25 July 2026
  • Garcia then ran into the neighborhood, prosecutors said, before authorities chased him down and apprehended him.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of apprehended
Verb
  • Up in Chicago, rival United — which has been duking it out with American at O’Hare International Airport — snatched up delivery slots for more than 100 Boeing Dreamliners in the last four years.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 19 July 2026
  • Malonga scored 28 points and snatched a game-high 14 rebounds.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 18 July 2026
Definition of snatched
Verb
  • Mbaye, Yassine and Toure are three of five players at the World Cup who had full profiles on the platform, having been captured on film since the age of 14 in their home countries.
    — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • After the Mac has been cleaned, change its login password because CrashStealer may have captured and validated that credential.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of captured

Browse Nearby Words

nab
nabbed
nabbing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nabbed. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on nabbed

Nglish: Translation of nabbed for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of comely

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All