grasp
Americanverb (used with object)
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grasps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grasped,
past participle, past
-
grasping
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
grasps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grasped,
past participle, past
-
grasping
present participle
noun
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grasps
plural
-
the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms.
to make a grasp at something.
-
a hold or grip.
to have a firm grasp of a rope.
-
one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping.
He took her in his grasp.
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one's power of seizing and holding; reach.
to have a thing within one's grasp.
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hold, possession, or mastery.
to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.
- Synonyms:
- clutches
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mental hold or capacity; power to understand.
- Synonyms:
- comprehension, apprehension, understanding
-
broad or thorough comprehension.
a good grasp of computer programming.
verb
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to grip (something) firmly with or as if with the hands
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to struggle, snatch, or grope (for)
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(tr) to understand, esp with effort
noun
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the act of grasping
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a grip or clasp, as of a hand
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the capacity to accomplish (esp in the phrase within one's grasp )
-
total rule or possession
-
understanding; comprehension
Synonym Usage
See catch. Grasp, reach refer to the power of seizing, either concretely or figuratively. Grasp suggests actually seizing and closing the hand upon something (or, figuratively, thoroughly comprehending something) and therefore refers to what is within one's possession or immediate possibility of possession: a good grasp of a problem; immense mental grasp. Reach suggests a stretching out of (usually) the hand to touch, strike, or, if possible, seize something; it therefore refers to a potentiality of possession that requires an effort. Figuratively, it implies perhaps a faint conception of something still too far beyond one to be definitely and clearly understood.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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graspernoun
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regraspverb (used with object)
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graspableadjective
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grasplessadjective
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ungraspableadjective
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ungraspedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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graspsimple
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graspssimple
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have graspedperfect
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has graspedperfect
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am graspingprogressive
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are graspingprogressive
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is graspingprogressive
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have been graspingperfect progressive
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has been graspingperfect progressive
Past
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graspedsimple
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had graspedperfect
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was graspingprogressive
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were graspingprogressive
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had been graspingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grasp
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English graspen, grapsen; cognate with Low German grapsen; akin to Old English gegræppian “to seize” ( see grapple)
Explanation
To grasp is to get a hold of something, literally or figuratively. Grasp the grammar textbook with both hands and then read it to grasp the rules of the English language. It makes sense that the word grasp means understanding a concept since you are "getting a hold of an idea" just as you would grasp something tangible to hold. Grasp is good for when you're talking about comprehending the scale of something, or the full picture of a multi-faceted problem or idea. You might know that there is going to be a heat wave, but you may not grasp the idea of its relationship to global warming.
Vocabulary lists containing grasp
"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Excerpt from "The Diary of Anne Frank"
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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:
But Holmes doesn’t grasp where her ideas end, and someone else’s influence begins.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
The robots’ pincer-like hands make it challenging to grasp slippery and heavy ceramics.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this,” he said then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
There was a comedy of errors at the end of the Washington Commanders' 27-27 tie with the New York Giants as both teams fluffed their lines with victory within their grasp.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
I guessed I would have to open it, so I reached out to grasp the handle.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
A poolside interlude channels the tension of distance between two people who were once close: The woman grasps a book but seems primarily absorbed in melancholy; the man broods around her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rosi’s artistry grasps the limitations of being a long-term guest, visually juxtaposing the ancient and elemental, busts and people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Although she grasps the issues that can arise with the product, she says, most of her life is pretty well documented anyway.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2026
"Her friends come every few days. No one fully grasps the idea that she is now dead."
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
She doesn't have her cane, and she grasps the armrest to balance herself against the sofa.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
The secretary may have gone to Princeton University, but he hasn’t yet grasped the concept of irony.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
On his debut, Samba played the entire 90 minutes and fully grasped his opportunity.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Gold and bitcoin immediately grasped this message and rallied in tandem.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The road to recovery is long, and some patients "still haven't really grasped the magnitude of what happened to them," Bianca Damaso, a physician specializing in prosthetics, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
More than any scientist before him, Bateson also grasped the idea that the discontinuous nature of genetic information carried vast implications for the future of human genetics.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Still grasping for the brass ring, still chasing the pot of gold.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
But there I was, grasping my husband’s hand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
As children, we sense the edges of these silences without fully grasping them.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Emmy Award-winning HBO comedy “Hacks” debuted nearly a decade after “Girls,” and it was still centered around a struggling creative grasping for whatever work she could find.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Esperanza knelt in front of him and reached out, grasping his shoulder.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
