death grip

American  

[deth grip] / ˈdɛθ ˌgrɪp /

noun

1. a very tight grip caused by fear or panic, as if facing death (often used facetiously).

   Scared out of my wits, and with a death grip on the motorbike's handlebars, I swore never again to ride on wet pavement.

   You don’t need to have such a death grip on the bat while waiting for the pitch, you know.

2. a very tight grip on someone, as to strangle or completely overpower them.

   As he knelt, the attacker took him from behind in a death grip, one hand clamped down firmly on his head, the other like a vise around his chest.

3. tyrannical or unrelenting control.

   Debt has a death grip on so many people's lives.

   These few media giants have had a death grip on the industry for the past decade.

4. Slang: Vulgar. a very tight grip on the penis when masturbating.

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Etymology

Origin of death grip

First recorded in 1730–40; 2010–15 death grip for def. 4

Example Sentences

Surely the man who held “The Tonight Show” in a death grip for 22 years has some thoughts.

From Salon

The “death grip on the ball,” Meister said, causes the muscles on the inner side of the elbow to contract in the arm and then extend when the ball is released.

From Los Angeles Times

When it emerged from COVID’s death grip.

From Los Angeles Times

If I could draw it on paper, I would depict the new year arriving as a bigger than life Cruella DeVille with a wicked smile and a mane of wild hair, a death grip on the steering wheel of a red convertible, blowing up a cloud of dust in her wake as far as the eye can see, braking and skidding to a screeching halt — Coming in Hot!

From Salon

“No! The baby boomer death grip continues,” Ronny Chieng said while hosting Wednesday’s “Daily Show.”

From New York Times