grapple
Americanverb (used without object)
-
grapples,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grappled,
past participle, past
-
grappling
present participle
-
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 bywith ).
He was grappling with a boy twice his size.
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to try to overcome or deal (usually followed bywith ).
to grapple with a problem.
verb (used with object)
-
grapples,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grappled,
past participle, past
-
grappling
present participle
-
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
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grapples
plural
-
a hook or an iron instrument by which one thing, as a ship, fastens onto another; grapnel.
-
a seizing or gripping.
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a grip or close hold in wrestling or hand-to-hand fighting.
-
a close, hand-to-hand fight.
verb
-
to come to grips with (one or more persons), esp to struggle in hand-to-hand combat
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to cope or contend
to grapple with a financial problem
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(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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grapplesimple
-
grapplessimple
-
have grappledperfect
-
has grappledperfect
-
am grapplingprogressive
-
are grapplingprogressive
-
is grapplingprogressive
-
have been grapplingperfect progressive
-
has been grapplingperfect progressive
Past
-
grappledsimple
-
had grappledperfect
-
was grapplingprogressive
-
were grapplingprogressive
-
had been grapplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grapple
1520–30; apparently a frequentative of Old English gegrǣppian to seize; associated with grapnel
Explanation
When you wrestle with something — literally or figuratively — you grapple with it, or try to overcome it. If you trace the word grapple back to its French roots, you’ll discover that the word originally referred to "a grape hook," a pronged tool used to harvest grapes. If you think about how awkward it would be to harvest grapes, with the individual grapes ready to scatter everywhere, it makes sense that grapple eventually evolved to include a verb form used to describe struggling with something unruly. You might grapple with a budget shortfall, grapple for answers, grapple with a wrestling opponent, or grapple with a new technology.
Vocabulary lists containing grapple
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Afterward, we were left to grapple with what this bizarre saga had meant.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
For McConnell, driving store traffic takes priority over upsells, particularly as consumers grapple with persistent inflation and elevated gas prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
While Indonesia is among many countries to grapple with wildfires each summer, this year's were more intense due to the El Niño ocean warming phenomenon, which makes weather patterns more volatile and intense.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
“As climate change continues to reduce our snowpack, that’s a future that we need to find ways to grapple with,” said Ryan Walker, president of the Siskiyou County Farm Bureau.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
On the plane ride home that day, I made a small list on a yellow legal pad, issues and questions that we all grapple with, from happiness to aging to having children to death.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
Japan has registered a record number of foreigners living in the country this year despite growing anti-immigration sentiment, as the country grapples with problems caused by an ageing and shrinking population.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Watching a new Oscar contender: La Bola Negra is a sprawling Spanish epic that grapples with the links between fascism and homophobia.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Like “The Good Wife,” the series from which “Elsbeth” sprang, “Cupertino” is a legal dramedy that grapples with — or at least exploits — current events and issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Kraft and the other analysts at Deutsche Bank made their assessment as the film and TV industry grapples with consolidation, a production pullback in Hollywood and the possible impact of artificial intelligence on entertainment jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
As they drew near enough to use their grapples, the captain mounted the rail.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
His Papa Charles grappled the fish, and Walters held their catch.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Treasury yields gave back early increases and settled just below Friday levels, as investors grappled with volatile oil prices and their potential impact on the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Athletics has long grappled with the issue of maintaining the interest and excitement which it generates at the Olympics throughout the rest of those four-year cycles.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Coxon, who previously worked at Anthropic’s competitor OpenAI, noted that OpenAI had not grappled with “the civilizational stakes.”
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Lord Roke pushed himself back against the nearest rock, and Mrs. Coulter grappled directly with the witch.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
As Anthropic prepares to go public, Wall Street is grappling with the unprecedented question of how to price the risks associated with artificial-intelligence calamity.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
But stock prices are forward rather than backward looking, and investors still are grappling with big questions about the AI future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
It was set up by Oliver Gardner, who says the first Plan 2 borrowers are grappling with competing financial pressures such as getting on the property ladder and starting families.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
When first envisioning “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Del Toro found himself grappling with existential concerns related to the meaning and relevance of what each person leaves behind when they are gone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
In a matter of moments they had disposed energetically of a problem with which Yossarian and Sergeant Towser had been grappling unsuccessfully for months.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
