grab
/ɡɹæb/
"grab" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grab” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,896 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #2,896
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grab |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɡɹæb/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,896 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grab” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for grab is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹæb/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,896 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for grab, with forms such as "ggrab", "grabb", and "grba". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GTA", "GRE", "GSA", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle Dutch grabben or Middle Low German grabben (“to grasp, grab, seize, snatch”), from Old Saxon gravan, from Proto-West Germanic *grabbōn, a secondary form of Proto-Germanic *grabōną (“to gather, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to gathe… The correct English form is grab, spelled G-R-A-B.
Definition
- 1To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch.
- 2To make a sudden grasping or clutching motion (at something).
- 3To restrain someone; to arrest.
- 4To grip the attention of; to enthrall or interest.
- 5To quickly collect, retrieve, or take.
- 6To consume something quickly.
- 7To take the opportunity of.
Etymology
From Middle Dutch grabben or Middle Low German grabben (“to grasp, grab, seize, snatch”), from Old Saxon gravan, from Proto-West Germanic *grabbōn, a secondary form of Proto-Germanic *grabōną (“to gather, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to gather, rake, grab, seize”). Related to archaic German grappen (“to grab”), Danish grabbe (“to grab”), Swedish grabba (“to grab”), Old Norse grápa (“to seize, appropriate”), Middle English grappen (“to feel, grope, grasp, clutch”), Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”). Related also to Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇā́ti), गृभ्णाति (gṛbhṇā́ti, “he seizes”), Avestan 𐬔𐬭𐬀𐬠 (grab, “to seize”)), Macedonian грабне (grabne, “to snatch”), Bulgarian грабя (grabja, “to rob, to grab”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ggrab,grabb,grba,grrab,rgab
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grab - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "grab"?
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Using “grab”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹæb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “GTA” - see the side-by-side comparison. grab vs GTA
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.