grapple

[grap-uhl]

verb (used without object)

grappled, grappling 

1. to hold or make fast to something, as with a grapple.

2. to use a grapple.

3. to seize another, or each other, in a firm grip, as in wrestling; clinch.

4. to engage in a struggle or close encounter (usually followed bywith ).

   He was grappling with a boy twice his size.

5. to try to overcome or deal (usually followed bywith ).

   to grapple with a problem.

   Synonyms: tussle, cope, wrestle, contend, struggle

verb (used with object)

grappled, grappling 

1. to seize, hold, or fasten with or as with a grapple.

2. to seize in a grip, take hold of.

   The thug grappled him around the neck.

noun

1. a hook or an iron instrument by which one thing, as a ship, fastens onto another; grapnel.

2. a seizing or gripping.

3. a grip or close hold in wrestling or hand-to-hand fighting.

4. a close, hand-to-hand fight.

grapple

/ ˈɡræpəl /

verb

1. to come to grips with (one or more persons), esp to struggle in hand-to-hand combat

2. to cope or contend

   to grapple with a financial problem

3. (tr) to secure with a grapple

noun

1. any form of hook or metal instrument by which something is secured, such as a grapnel

2. 1. the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling

   2. a grip or hold

3. a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match

Other Word Forms

• grappler noun
• intergrapple verb
• ungrappled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grapple¹

1520–30; apparently a frequentative of Old English gegrǣppian to seize; associated with grapnel

Word History and Origins

Origin of grapple¹

C16: from Old French grappelle a little hook, from grape hook; see _grapnel

Example Sentences

Traders are looking to close out November with momentum as investors grapple with uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates when it meets next month.

Read more on Barron's

Millennia before the Clocky alarm or smartphone screen timers, philosophers grappled with the same question: How can we live with intention and follow through?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Investors, Mr Stanley said, are "squaring up" as they grapple with uncertainty about the state of the economy, and whether the Fed will be forced to keep interest rates higher if inflation heats up.

Read more on BBC

Target “still grapples to find its design/style authority and consumer disaffection lingers,” Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman said in a recent note.

Read more on MarketWatch

The protests reflected the deep frustration among young people, who have grappled with soaring inflation and a high unemployment rate for years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• confront 
• contend 
• cope