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.

SYNONYMS FOR grapple

5 struggle, contend, wrestle, cope, tussle.

See synonyms for grapple on Thesaurus.com

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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. 2021

How to use grapple in a sentence

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

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

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

noun

SYNONYMS FOR grapple

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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

verb

noun

Derived forms of grapple

Word Origin for grapple