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grapple

[grap-uhl]

||

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for grappled

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 grappled

Contemporary Examples of grappled

Moses lost her job, and then her home, as she grappled with pain and illness after her spinal surgery.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’
The Center for Investigative Reporting
November 3, 2014
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.
America’s Axis of Drought
Kate Galbraith
March 4, 2014
Instead, Obama sometimes seemed to forget the word altogether as he grappled with the forces of nope.
Ted Kennedy, Bin Laden & Gay Marriage: How Obama Got His Audacity Back
Michael Daly
May 10, 2012
At the White House, he grappled with the endless series of Clinton mini-scandals.
Murdoch’s Secret Weapon
Lloyd Grove
July 21, 2011

Historical Examples of grappled

And the hands of the other grappled at his wrists, smashed into his face.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Swift on her part she paid him back with grisly grasp, and grappled with him.
Beowulf
Anonymous
He clung to all three, he grappled them to him; they were his sheet-anchor and his pole-star.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
He closed with the ruffian, grappled him by the throat, and flung him on his back.
The Christian
Hall Caine
Both were men of great strength, and their muscles knotted as they grappled.
The Mountain Divide
Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for grappled

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

the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling
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 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper