What is grabbing? What is grabbing? To take or grasp suddenly: grabbed the letter from me.To capture or restrain; arrest.To obtain or appropriate unscrupulously or forcibly: grab public funds; grab power. To take hurriedly: grabbed my coat and hat and left.Slang To capture the attention of: a plot that grabs the reader.A sudden attempt to grasp or hold something: made a grab for the railing. A sudden, often unscrupulous taking control or ownership of something:"The imminence of death is reflected in every last power-stroke and grab of the great money bosses"(Dylan Thomas).A mechanical device for gripping an object.