come to grips with

Idioms  

1. Confront squarely, deal decisively with, as in Her stories help the children come to grips with upsetting events. This term, sometimes put as get to grips with, employs grip in the sense of a “tight hold.” [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

U.S. companies and the federal government haven’t come to grips with Americans’ longer lives, Stern says.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 18, 2025

Meanwhile, in Utah, witnesses, law enforcement and state and local leaders continue to come to grips with the trauma of the day.

From BBC • Sep. 10, 2025

So trust me when I say that I can’t quite come to grips with my new habit, one that I’m hugely embarrassed to be admitting in public.

From Slate • Apr. 25, 2025

Palmer is only starting to come to grips with that.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024

During that summer, as the temperature climbed, Milton tried to come to grips with the predicament he found himself in.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides