grasp
Americanverb (used with object)
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grasps,
present (3rd person singular)
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grasped,
past participle, past
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grasping
present participle
verb (used without object)
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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
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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 )
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total rule or possession
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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:
As it turns out, this was the moment when society began to grasp just how powerful AI could become.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Looking down at him, she speaks slowly as if still trying to grasp the details of what has happened to her since the civil war erupted in Sudan.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
He admitted in 2024 that his grasp on the dialect was “horrible.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
“We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition,” the letter states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
He jumped up, trying to rescue Sunny from the grasp of the Count, but he was holding her too high to reach.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
His left hand gently grasps a ceremonial sword while his extended right hand is open and welcoming, rather than pointed and dictatorial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
She also grasps that comedy reigns on the Internet.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025
But already, with this first move, Moscow has shown that it grasps the depth of local frustrations.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025
Nine months since I pulled my hand out of Chou’s grasps.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
He said the market already grasped his approach and pointed to falling volatility, lower Treasury yields and expectations that inflation would decline over the coming year or two as early evidence his strategy is succeeding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Kingsley looks at me, gauging if I’ve grasped the heartbreak of the moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
If you’ve ever fancied a gondola ride through Venice’s famous canals, now might be the time—many Americans have already grasped the opportunity this summer.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
To get solar panels because you’ve grasped the moral tragedy of climate change, not because your neighbor Larry’s roof looks kind of fab with them.
From Slate ● May 15, 2026
Shipman, who was rated among the top twenty players in the United States, grasped the boy’s potential.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Now, as growth flatlines, a desperate government is grasping for ideas to get the economy going again, including opening up retail across the whole week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Much to my surprise, Radcliffe more than steps up as a down-and-out documentarian inserted into the life of a disgraced football star grasping for a comeback.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
He prays for her before each game, looking up to the sky while grasping his wife’s necklace, then kissing a ring that has her fingerprint tattooed on it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
"I'm not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that's needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for faster progress," Phillips said.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
He heard a warning being issued to Peanut Abbott and he felt the hands of his teammates grasping his shoulders and asking him if he was all right.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
