grabby

English

Etymology

From grab +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹæbi/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æbi

Adjective

grabby (comparative grabbier, superlative grabbiest)

  1. Tending to grab, especially rudely or greedily.
    Synonym: handsy
  2. Attention-grabbing; striking, stimulating.
    • 2023 July 6, Pamela Paul, “What’s the Story With Colleen Hoover?”, in The New York Times[1]:
      Nearly every bookstore contains a designated Colleen Hoover table, display case or section, stuffed with vague but grabby titles, like “All Your Perfects” and “Ugly Love.” I slorped down three of them in one week.
    • 2024 May 23, Chris Almeida, “They’re Ignoring MrBeast’s Rules of YouTube, and Thriving”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
      By “this” he meant that the platform was filled with videos that have sensationalized titles, heavily edited content and grabby thumbnails, often featuring a person’s emotive face.

Derived terms

Noun

grabby (plural grabbies)

  1. (childish, usually in the plural) Humanlike hand of some animals, mainly rodents and primates.
    Look at that gerbil and his little grabbies! So cute.