grasp
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
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.
-
one's power of seizing and holding; reach.
to have a thing within one's grasp.
-
hold, possession, or mastery.
to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.
- Synonyms:
- clutches
-
mental hold or capacity; power to understand.
- Synonyms:
- comprehension, apprehension, understanding
-
broad or thorough comprehension.
a good grasp of computer programming.
verb
-
to grip (something) firmly with or as if with the hands
-
to struggle, snatch, or grope (for)
-
(tr) to understand, esp with effort
noun
-
the act of grasping
-
a grip or clasp, as of a hand
-
the capacity to accomplish (esp in the phrase within one's grasp )
-
total rule or possession
-
understanding; comprehension
Related Words
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
- graspable adjective
- grasper noun
- graspless adjective
- regrasp verb (used with object)
- ungraspable adjective
- ungrasped adjective
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” ( grapple )
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.
While losing at home has made things that much tougher, with just one goal in it, United still head to Munich believing a first Champions League semi-final is within their grasp.
From BBC
When a gust yanks the handle out of her grasp, she decides to batten down the hatches, latching it behind her and inspecting her surroundings via phone flashlight.
From Literature
I pull myself free of her grasp and press my feet to move forward, one in front of the other, out of his room, back down the hall, to the lobby, to outside.
From Literature
But even as he leapt through the smoke, his grasp was met with nothing.
From Literature
As Woodland walked down the final fairway of the Houston Open at Memorial Park, the gallery fully grasped what this meant for the 41-year-old American.
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.
