grab
n. countablen. a quick attempt to take or hold something with your hand. It is also used when you try to get power or attention in a fast, sometimes rude way.
n. a sudden, forceful act of seizing or snatching an object. Often used metaphorically to describe an opportunistic attempt to gain power, resources, or attention; informal in register.
He made a quick grab for the last slice of pizza.
The politician's sudden policy change was seen by critics as a desperate grab for votes before the election.
In a bold power grab that stunned the board of directors, the minority shareholder attempted to seize control of the company during the annual meeting.
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”).
From Arabic غُرَاب (ḡurāb) and Hindi ghurb?: crow, raven, a kind of Arab ship.
Commonly used in the construction 'make a grab for' followed by a noun phrase.