snarf
Definition
Verb: - To take something quickly, stealthily, or without permission; to steal or appropriate. It implies a swift, often greedy or surreptitious, act of taking.
Usage
The verb "snarf" is informal and often used in casual contexts. It describes the action of grabbing or taking something, typically in a hurried or sneaky manner. It can be used both transitively (with a direct object) and intransitively (without one, though this is less common for the core meaning).
Examples
Advanced Usage
- "snarf down": To eat something very quickly and greedily.
- He snarfed down his lunch in five minutes to get back to work.
- "snarf up": To quickly take or acquire something, often before others can.
- Investors snarfed up the company's stock after the positive news.
Variants and Related Words
- Snarf can also be a slang term in computing, meaning to consume or read data, often from a network.
- The program snarfed the configuration data from the server.
Synonyms
- Pilfer: To steal (typically things of little value).
- Swipe: To take something quickly or steal.
- Filch: To steal (something of small value) in a casual way.
- Purloin: To steal (a formal or literary synonym).
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Snarf down: As defined in Advanced Usage.
- Snarf up: As defined in Advanced Usage.
Verb
-
make off with belongings of others
