smash-and-grab

adjective

chiefly British

—used to describe a robbery that is done by breaking a window of a car, store, etc., and stealing whatever can be taken quickly

a smash-and-grab robbery/thief

Examples of smash-and-grab in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The law became the scorn of critics as retail and smash-and-grab thefts in California increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. —

Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Nov. 2024 In all three races, critics who cited smash-and-grab robberies, open drug dealing at homeless encampments and other unlawful trends, said the leaders were too soft on crime. —

Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024 Soon afterward followed the routine smash-and-grab robberies that would drive convenience stores and pharmacies out of even heavily populated neighborhoods that desperately needed them. —

The Editors, National Review, 25 Oct. 2024 Videos of smash-and-grab retail crimes and auto theft went viral, giving ample opportunity for right-wing media pundits to use San Francisco as an urgent warning against electing Democrats. —

Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for smash-and-grab