grapple
Americanverb (used without object)
-
grapples,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grappled,
past participle, past
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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.
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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)
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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
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to come to grips with (one or more persons), esp to struggle in hand-to-hand combat
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to cope or contend
to grapple with a financial problem
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(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
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a grip or hold
-
-
a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grapplesimple
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grapplessimple
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have grappledperfect
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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:
New heated debates are flaring up across the industry as CEOs, researchers and policymakers grapple with what it means to pace the frontier.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
"There is no question that federal legislation is challenging in this climate, but Congress also has to grapple with which of the many types of AI risk need to be addressed," Givens said.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
His stories have often examined how big technology companies and the people within them grapple with the power and impact of artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Though the exhibition intended to grapple with Galliano’s fall from grace and create a necessary dialogue about the limitations of artistic reverence, the dissent was too strong.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
They were left to grapple on their own with a lot of complicated financial theory.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Kim Kardashian grapples with a health scare that hits close to home in a new trailer for “The Kardashians.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Albertsons named former eBay and Hewlett Packard chief Meg Whitman to the newly created post of executive chair, as the grocery-store operator grapples with falling sales and cautious consumer spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Devastating fires have also burned this summer in Spain and France as Europe grapples with drought and record high temperatures.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent, likely a result of falling labor supply as the US economy grapples with an aging population and lower net migration.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
As they drew near enough to use their grapples, the captain mounted the rail.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
His Papa Charles grappled the fish, and Walters held their catch.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Along with my co-founders and employees, I have grappled with this duality of risk and benefit since the beginning of Anthropic,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
She dealt with fallout and she grappled with the ways the article may have hurt her career more than helped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
The revelation came as the country grappled with whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaks exposing the vast reach of the agency’s surveillance.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Instead, Nixon grappled with a sense of foreboding.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Like many industry workers, Atkinson is grappling with the sudden shift in public opinion about a workplace where he landed a solid career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
"Possibly some sort of close inspection and grappling satellite would be another possibility as well."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
In his post, Amodei urged “building AI at a balanced rate that aims to ensure its safety while still achieving its benefits and grappling with important geopolitical dilemmas.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026
And Morissette knows a thing or two about grappling with the condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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.
