# nab

> English word · Verb · IPA /næb/ · frequency rank #24,839

## Definitions
1. To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
2. To grab or snatch something.
3. To steal or copy another user's post.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **NC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nc)
- **ne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-ne)
- **NJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nj)
- **ni** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-ni)
- **Ng** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-ng)
- **nm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nm)
- **NZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nz)
- **NT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nt)
- **nd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nd)
- **NP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-np)
- **nu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nu)
- **NL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nl)
- **nr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nr)
- **NB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nb)
- **NN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nn)
- **not** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-not)
- **new** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-new)
- **now** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-now)
- **non** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-non)
- **nor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nab-vs-nor)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nab