grip
Americannoun
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grips
plural
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the act of grasping; a seizing and holding fast; firm grasp.
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the power of gripping.
He has a strong grip.
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a grasp, hold, or control.
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mental or intellectual hold.
to have a good grip on a problem.
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competence or firmness in dealing with situations in one's work or personal affairs.
The boss is old and is losing his grip.
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a special mode of clasping hands.
Members of the club use the secret grip.
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something that seizes and holds, as a clutching device on a cable car.
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a handle or hilt.
That knife has a very unusual grip.
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a sudden, sharp pain; spasm of pain.
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Older Use. a small traveling bag.
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Theater. a stagehand, especially one who works on the stage floor.
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Movies, Television. a general assistant available on a film set for shifting scenery, moving furniture, etc.
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verb (used with object)
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grips,
present (3rd person singular)
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gripped,
past participle, past
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gript,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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gripping
present participle
verb (used without object)
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grips,
present (3rd person singular)
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gripped,
past participle, past
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gript,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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gripping
present participle
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to take firm hold; hold fast.
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to take hold on the mind.
idioms
noun
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the act or an instance of grasping and holding firmly
he lost his grip on the slope
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Also called: handgrip. the strength or pressure of such a grasp, as in a handshake
a feeble grip
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the style or manner of grasping an object, such as a tennis racket
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understanding, control, or mastery of a subject, problem, etc (esp in such phrases as get or have a grip on )
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Also called: handgrip. a part by which an object is grasped; handle
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Also called: handgrip. a travelling bag or holdall
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See hairgrip
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any device that holds by friction, such as certain types of brake
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a method of clasping or shaking hands used by members of secret societies to greet or identify one another
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a spasm of pain
a grip in one's stomach
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a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc
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a small drainage channel cut above an excavation to conduct surface water away from the excavation
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(often foll by with)
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to deal with (a problem or subject)
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to tackle (an assailant)
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verb
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to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch
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to hold the interest or attention of
to grip an audience
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gripsimple
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gripssimple
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have grippedperfect
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have griptperfect
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has grippedperfect
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has griptperfect
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am grippingprogressive
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are grippingprogressive
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is grippingprogressive
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have been grippingperfect progressive
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has been grippingperfect progressive
Past
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grippedsimple
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griptsimple
-
had grippedperfect
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had griptperfect
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was grippingprogressive
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were grippingprogressive
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had been grippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grip
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English gripe “grasp” (noun); cognate with German Griff, Old English gripa “handful”; see gripe
Explanation
To grip something is to hold it firmly. You might grip the TV remote to keep your roommate from trying to change the channel. When you want to hold on to something, you grip it. If your hands are strong and you can hold things well, you have a good grip. Grip is also the roughness or texture of something. A steering wheel has good grip if your hands don't slip while driving. This word can be also be used figuratively. If you’re upset, your friend might tell you to “get a grip” — that is, get a hold of yourself.
Vocabulary lists containing grip
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Both Cruise and Pitt have a death grip on their A-List prestige, hyper-aware of how much the world perceives and enjoys their work.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Those modifications cause the histones to loosen their grip on DNA, opening up access for transcription factors that are needed to turn genes on.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015 and for years, his family held a tight grip over the country's politics.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Investors are skeptical that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will be able to fulfill promises to get a grip on France’s finances before the presidential election.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
When the girl lost her patience, she plucked the microphone from Anat’s grip, and Anat shuddered, her whole body convulsing.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
“He stole a motorcycle and rode it around. He almost knocked a bunch of grips and gaffers off their ladders,” André recalled in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
These receptors are molecular grips on immune cells that help them stick to blood vessels, enter tissues, and reach infections.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
U.S. markets seem a bit off to many observers lately: Bonds are in the grips of a punishing selloff, driving yields to roughly two-decade highs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Now two years on from their original commitment, the pair have managed a six-turn practice run to get to grips with the rules before jumping into the full game, which is 111 turns.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
“You look so much older,” I said, once they loosened their grips enough to let me breathe.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been gripped by a vast humanitarian crisis since the civil war broke out in 2014.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
The historic $110 billion Hollywood tie-up comes as a powerful selloff in long-dated Treasurys has gripped financial markets, pushing up benchmark yields to their highest levels since 2002.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Anthropic’s timing shifted as a debate over AI’s safety and the potential for AI agents going rogue gripped the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
He gripped the controls and expected the engine to give out at any second, until he spotted a parking lot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Torak gripped the flint flake so hard that it dug into his palm.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
He leapt into the water, That rover young and bold; He gript Earl Haldan's daughter, He shore her locks of gold; 'Go weep, go weep, proud maiden, The tale is full to-day.
From Westward Ho!, or, the voyages and adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the county of Devon, in the reign of her most glorious majesty Queen Elizabeth by Charles Kingsley
And he came half over the edge, and gript the Diskos by the handle, in an instant.
From The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson
Well, altogether gript by the being of love.
From Emblems Of Love by Lascelles Abercrombie
And first gaed by the black black steed, And then gaed by the brown; But fast she gript the milk-white steed, And pu'd the rider down.
From Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 2 Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in The Southern Counties of Scotland; with a Few of Modern Date, Founded Upon Local Tradition by Sir Walter Scott
And he rode at that Emir, and gript him in his arms.
From Hereward, the Last of the English by Charles Kingsley
And so it is in Mr. Richardson’s profound and gripping narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The Valkyrie, the only team to have beaten Wigan this season, dug deep into their well of resolve to shade a gripping Grand Final.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“The Visit,” set in motion by a gripping premise, slightly overstays its welcome.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Stocks stumbled out of the gate after Labor Day, with a jittery tone gripping markets as the typically weak month of September began in earnest after the holiday.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
He looked at Mrs. Torrance, who stood next to her desk, her right hand gripping it so tight that he could see the muscles flexing in her arm.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
