grapple
[grap-uh l]
- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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Origin of grapple
Synonyms
See more synonyms for grapple on Thesaurus.com5. struggle, contend, wrestle, cope, tussle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for grappled
Contemporary Examples
Moses lost her job, and then her home, as she grappled with pain and illness after her spinal surgery.
With Lindsay Lohan, we were watching the horror show of self-sabotage, and grappled with our role in feeding into it.
Amanda Bynes Has a ‘Microchip’ in Her Brain. Why Are We Fascinated By This?Kevin Fallon
October 10, 2014
Three years ago, as Texas grappled with its driest year on record, Governor Rick Perry declared a weekend of prayer for rain.
Instead, Obama sometimes seemed to forget the word altogether as he grappled with the forces of nope.
At the White House, he grappled with the endless series of Clinton mini-scandals.
Historical Examples
And the hands of the other grappled at his wrists, smashed into his face.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Swift on her part she paid him back with grisly grasp, and grappled with him.
BeowulfAnonymous
He clung to all three, he grappled them to him; they were his sheet-anchor and his pole-star.
The ScapegoatHall Caine
He closed with the ruffian, grappled him by the throat, and flung him on his back.
The ChristianHall Caine
Both were men of great strength, and their muscles knotted as they grappled.
The Mountain DivideFrank H. Spearman
grapple
- 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
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- 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
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Word Origin
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 grappled
grapple
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper