grapple

[ grap-uhl ]

/ ˈgræp əl /

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See synonyms for: grapple / grappling / grappler on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), grap·pled, grap·pling.

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.

to engage in a struggle or close encounter (usually followed by with): He was grappling with a boy twice his size.

to try to overcome or deal (usually followed by with): to grapple with a problem.

verb (used with object), grap·pled, grap·pling.

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

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

a seizing or gripping.

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

a close, hand-to-hand fight.

OTHER WORDS FOR grapple

5 struggle, contend, wrestle, cope, tussle.

See synonyms for grapple on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of grapple

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

OTHER WORDS FROM grapple

grappler, nounin·ter·grap·ple, verb, in·ter·grap·pled, in·ter·grap·pling.un·grap·pled, adjective

Words nearby grapple

-graphy, grapnel, grappa, Grappelli, grappier cement, grapple, grapple ground, grapple plant, grapple shot, grappling, grappling iron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grapple in a sentence

Those two lines cross, and slide up one another, and then there’s a grapple and capture.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through May 7)|Singularity Hub Staff|May 7, 2022|Singularity Hub
Even the newest and most important addition to his arsenal, a grapple hook that lets you rocket toward and swing around structures, mountains, and enemies like you’re some sort of gun-toting Spider-Man, is derivative, and not that intuitive to use.
Halo Infinite Made Me Love Gaming With Friends Again|Patrick Lucas Austin|December 13, 2021|Time
In hindsight, like many who suffer from eating disorders, it was a misguided and desperate grapple for control at a time when the great themes of my life were in chaos.
How Nature Helped Me Recover from an Eating Disorder|Kate Siber|March 25, 2021|Outside Online
The White House, however, does not grapple with the essentiality of good ground forces now.
There’s Only One Way to Beat ISIS: Work With Assad and Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In Ferguson and many towns like it, majority African-American communities most grapple with mostly white county governments.
Ferguson and the Urban-Suburban Race Conflict|Michael Tomasky|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I believe that there are evil acts, and I grapple with the idea of whether you can call people evil.
Ron Rosenbaum on Hitler, Hollywood, and Quantifying Evil|William O’Connor|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The slice of society he depicts is narrow, but its denizens grapple with the universal basics: family, mortality, love, ambition.
Michael Cunningham’s Haunting Grown-Up Fairy Tale|Wendy Smith|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the fourth year running, the ICA has had to grapple with the complexities of coordinating a group show.
These Young Artists Want You to Feel Something|Chloë Ashby|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We are of course in a peculiarly difficult position to grapple with this problem through lack of contemporary evidence.
The Religion of Ancient Rome|Cyril Bailey
At the moment he felt as if he could grapple the brute in bare hands and come off victor; and if otherwise—what matter?
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
A year before, their third cable had broken in mid-ocean, and it was now proposed to "grapple" for it.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various
We hope it will go on and agreeably grapple with the people in its own district whatever may become of the Jews.
Our Churches and Chapels|Atticus
Gilliatt was sufficiently familiar with marine rocks to grapple in earnest with the Douvres.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for grapple

grapple

/ (ˈɡræpəl) /

verb

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

(intr foll by with) to cope or contendto grapple with a financial problem

(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
a grip or hold

a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match

Derived forms of grapple

grappler, noun

Word Origin for grapple

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

grapple

OTHER WORDS FOR grapple

Origin of grapple

OTHER WORDS FROM grapple

Words nearby grapple

Words related to grapple

How to use grapple in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grapple

Derived forms of grapple

Word Origin for grapple