grapple
Americanverb (used without object)
-
grapples,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grappled,
past participle, past
-
grappling
present participle
-
to hold or make fast to something, as with a grapple.
-
to use a grapple.
-
to seize another, or each other, in a firm grip, as in wrestling; clinch.
-
to engage in a struggle or close encounter (usually followed bywith ).
He was grappling with a boy twice his size.
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to try to overcome or deal (usually followed bywith ).
to grapple with a problem.
verb (used with object)
-
grapples,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grappled,
past participle, past
-
grappling
present participle
-
to seize, hold, or fasten with or as with a grapple.
-
to seize in a grip, take hold of.
The thug grappled him around the neck.
noun
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grapples
plural
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a hook or an iron instrument by which one thing, as a ship, fastens onto another; grapnel.
-
a seizing or gripping.
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a grip or close hold in wrestling or hand-to-hand fighting.
-
a close, hand-to-hand fight.
verb
-
to come to grips with (one or more persons), esp to struggle in hand-to-hand combat
-
to cope or contend
to grapple with a financial problem
-
(tr) to secure with a grapple
noun
-
any form of hook or metal instrument by which something is secured, such as a grapnel
-
-
the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling
-
a grip or hold
-
-
a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grapplesimple
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grapplessimple
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have grappledperfect
-
has grappledperfect
-
am grapplingprogressive
-
are grapplingprogressive
-
is grapplingprogressive
-
have been grapplingperfect progressive
-
has been grapplingperfect progressive
Past
-
grappledsimple
-
had grappledperfect
-
was grapplingprogressive
-
were grapplingprogressive
-
had been grapplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grapple
1520–30; apparently a frequentative of Old English gegrǣppian to seize; associated with grapnel
Explanation
When you wrestle with something — literally or figuratively — you grapple with it, or try to overcome it. If you trace the word grapple back to its French roots, you’ll discover that the word originally referred to "a grape hook," a pronged tool used to harvest grapes. If you think about how awkward it would be to harvest grapes, with the individual grapes ready to scatter everywhere, it makes sense that grapple eventually evolved to include a verb form used to describe struggling with something unruly. You might grapple with a budget shortfall, grapple for answers, grapple with a wrestling opponent, or grapple with a new technology.
Vocabulary lists containing grapple
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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:
Afterward, we were left to grapple with what this bizarre saga had meant.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
While Indonesia is among many countries to grapple with wildfires each summer, this year's were more intense due to the El Niño ocean warming phenomenon, which makes weather patterns more volatile and intense.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
None of these proposals grapple with the full weight of how different our new era will be from the relatively placid one it is superseding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
They grapple with low morale awaiting reclassification — sometimes missing a passing score by a point or two.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
August thrusts me away, and we grapple in the center of the tent.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Japan has registered a record number of foreigners living in the country this year despite growing anti-immigration sentiment, as the country grapples with problems caused by an ageing and shrinking population.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
A fresh approach to the dot plot and the Fed’s broader communication tools is overdue, and the timing is good as the central bank grapples with new and evolving challenges.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Watching a new Oscar contender: La Bola Negra is a sprawling Spanish epic that grapples with the links between fascism and homophobia.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Dwayne grapples with ensuring the university isn’t forced to shut down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
As they drew near enough to use their grapples, the captain mounted the rail.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Sales shot up, boosting the company while it grappled with stagnating sales in the U.S. and other developed markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
She said demand for help from the charity had risen as households grappled with multiple financial pressures.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
His Papa Charles grappled the fish, and Walters held their catch.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Coxon, who previously worked at Anthropic’s competitor OpenAI, noted that OpenAI had not grappled with “the civilizational stakes.”
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
I suppose it would be interesting to say that at this point I felt torn in some way, grappled with the moral implications of each of the courses available to me.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
As Anthropic prepares to go public, Wall Street is grappling with the unprecedented question of how to price the risks associated with artificial-intelligence calamity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
But stock prices are forward rather than backward looking, and investors still are grappling with big questions about the AI future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
It was set up by Oliver Gardner, who says the first Plan 2 borrowers are grappling with competing financial pressures such as getting on the property ladder and starting families.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
When first envisioning “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Del Toro found himself grappling with existential concerns related to the meaning and relevance of what each person leaves behind when they are gone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
How I wanted to show her that her questions were so minor compared with what I’m grappling with.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
