snatched

Snatched means looking amazing: flawless, sharp and perfectly put together. Dictionary.com defines it as amazingly good, very attractive or flawlessly styled.

What it means

You can call an outfit, a haircut, a makeup look or a whole person snatched. It’s also used specifically about a slim, defined waist, as in “her waist is snatched,” which is why it turns up so much in fitness talk.

Then there’s “my wig is snatched,” which means something different: I’m so shocked or impressed that my wig flew off. You say it when something is so good, or so outrageous, that it knocks you back.

Examples

• “That suit is tailored perfectly. You look snatched.”
• “Contour on point, brows on point. Snatched.”
• “She hit that high note and my wig was snatched.”

Where it came from

Dictionary.com dates it to the early 1990s and calls the origin uncertain. Its slang guide links it to Black drag culture in New York in the 1990s, with the idea that a look could be so good it snatches the wig off your head. The word got a big boost around 2016, as “on fleek” faded, with help from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Because it grew out of Black and queer communities, Dictionary.com suggests being mindful of where it comes from. When a 2019 slang quiz asked Oprah Winfrey what “wig snatched” meant, she had no idea, which says a lot about how fast it moved from those communities into the mainstream.

Related terms

• slay: to do something brilliantly
• ate: did amazingly
• left no crumbs: did it perfectly
• baddie: a confident, glamorous woman
• it’s giving: it has the vibe of

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang dictionary.