Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

grapple shot

American  

noun

Nautical.

  1. a grapnellike projectile fired from a gun and used as a hold for the end of a line in rescue operations or in kedging.

Etymology

Origin of grapple shot

First recorded in 1880–85

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training