grapple

[grap-uhl]

See more synonyms for grapple 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.

Origin of grapple

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

Related formsgrap·pler, nounin·ter·grap·ple, verb, in·ter·grap·pled, in·ter·grap·pling.un·grap·pled, adjective

Synonyms for grapple

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5. struggle, contend, wrestle, cope, tussle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for grapple

contend, confront, cope, catch, encounter, scuffle, nail, hook, battle, close, nab, tussle, clash, fight, attack, take, grip, hug, combat, snatch

Examples from the Web for grapple

Contemporary Examples of grapple

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
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
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
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
Instead it was to force him, and us, to grapple with the bigger question at the heart of the series.
'Breaking Bad's' Series Finale Cements Its Status As One of the All-Time Greats
Andrew Romano
September 30, 2013

Historical Examples of grapple

What courage was requisite to grapple with this giant difficulty!
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
He was much smaller than the other, but he knew that he was far and away stronger after that grapple.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
To-night we grapple for the heavy cable, eight tons to the mile.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
There must be a power which can go behind these and grapple with causes.
The Railroad Question
William Larrabee
Something that he could not repel since it had no substance he could grapple with.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for grapple

grapple

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
1. the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling
2. a grip or hold
a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match

Derived Formsgrappler, 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

Word Origin and History for grapple

late 13c., from Old French grapil "hook" (see grapnel). The verb is 1520s, "seize and hold fast," from the noun. Sense of "battle, struggle (with)" is from 1590s. Related: Grappled; grappling.