grabble
Americanverb (used without object)
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to feel or search with the hands; grope.
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to sprawl; scramble.
verb
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(intr) to scratch or feel about with the hands
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(intr) to fall to the ground; sprawl
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(tr) to seize rashly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grabble
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:
It’s that we want—and need—the ability to grabble with nuance and ambiguity that are inherent when our bodies and minds fail.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2018
"Who gets me, I think, will have to swoop down in an aeroplane, and grabble me all up and fly away with me!"
From Patty's Suitors by Wells, Carolyn
V. touch, feel, handle, finger, thumb, paw, fumble, grope, grabble; twiddle, tweedle; pass the fingers over, run the fingers over; manipulate, wield; throw out a feeler.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
W'en you talk dat a-way you fetches me, sho', en I'll tell you a tale 'bout de ole Witch-Rabbit ef I hatter git down yer on my all-fours en grabble it out'n de ashes.
From Nights With Uncle Remus by Winter, Milo
A few hollow groans from the wardrobe, he thought, would be more than sufficient, or, if that failed to wake her, he might grabble at the counterpane with palsy-twitching fingers.
From Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories by Wilde, Oscar
“Rebel Yell” starts up from the sound system and, as if on cue, my son lets out a grabbled “a-woooh!”
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2015
Suddenly, the Fleshlumpeater shot out two enormous hands and grabbled the BFG around the waist.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
Ed King and Jim Maxwell each had a sack of sweet potatoes, grabbled in a field a mile and a half away.
From A History of Lumsden's Battery, C.S.A. by Maxwell, James Robert
Jim stopp'd an' grabbled up a clot, An' zent en at en lik' a shot; An' down went Daw an' cage avore The clot, up thump ageän the door.
From Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect by Barnes, William
He went ahead and run all aroun' de ginhouse and dey let him in de gin-room and he grabbled in de cottonseed in a hole.
From Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves: Volume I, Alabama Narratives by United States. Work Projects Administration
Other departments in California are grabbling with similar incidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2020
And then, as if a signal has gone off that only the childrens can hear, all of their hands are reaching and grabbling and snatching.
From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech
‘We will swear to do what he wants, yes, yess,’ said Gollum, still twisting and grabbling at his ankle.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
The furies of rage and rancour were grabbling at her heart, even as the leopard had scrabbled on her face.
From Blue Aloes Stories of South Africa by Stockley, Cynthia
We jumped over the fence, and commenced grabbling for the sweet potatoes.
From "Co. Aytch" Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show by Watkins, Sam R.
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.
