grabble

American  

[grab-uhl] / ˈgræb əl /

verb (used without object)

grabbled, grabbling

1. to feel or search with the hands; grope.

2. to sprawl; scramble.

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grabble British  

/ ˈɡræbəl /

verb

1. (intr) to scratch or feel about with the hands

2. (intr) to fall to the ground; sprawl

3. (tr) to seize rashly

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Other Word Forms

• grabbler noun

Etymology

Origin of grabble

1570–80; grab ¹ + -le; compare Dutch grabbelen

Example Sentences

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

Often raccoons, foxes, and squirrels grabble them up.

From The Peanut Plant Its Cultivation And Uses by Jones, B. W.

Happy dat de house am full So yuh'll hab toh trabble; Mister Trouble, stretch yoh laigs Libely down de grabble!

From Oklahoma Sunshine by Miller, Freeman E. (Freeman Edwin)

Now, they, I admid, were fine, noble, sensible fellows; they had indelligence enough to regognize the diffiguldies of the siduation, and do grabble with them in a sensible way.

From The Log of the Flying Fish A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure by Browne, Gordon

To grabble the bit; to seize any   one's money.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis