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:
At a time when Americans’ grasp of personal-finance concepts is on the decline and many students don’t receive training in financial literacy in school, providing support “doesn’t require writing a check,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The allegations detailed by the Anthropic report come amid a nationwide debate on whether policymakers fully grasp the threats and changes that AI poses to national security in the coming decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“But to be here in the Getty with my photographs, I don’t think he could grasp that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
But it’s going to take a while for the rest of us to fully grasp the heinousness of the duplicity to which we were unwittingly subjected throughout many stages of our lives.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2018
He let the stump roots slip out of his grasp, and began paddling toward shore again.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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
"Her friends come every few days. No one fully grasps the idea that she is now dead."
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
She also grasps that comedy reigns on the Internet.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025
She grasps for something, anything, that she can ask this boy—a question that no one but Enrique can answer.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
On his debut, Samba played the entire 90 minutes and fully grasped his opportunity.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Unseeded Michelsen came into the match in fine form, having not dropped a set at the tournament prior to facing Tiafoe, and grasped the momentum in the first set.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 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
Stories of first times, of big feelings imperfectly grasped, of life coming into focus for better or worse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
She laughs, then makes a beeline for the lawn in front of the stage, the blanket grasped tight in her arms as she runs to find a spot near the front.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
As children, we sense the edges of these silences without fully grasping them.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Brands grasping for attention may also miss a true shift as men go online to learn more about products like cologne than their fathers ever knew, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Or David Seaman grasping at thin air as Ronaldinho's free-kick found its way into the back of the net in the quarter-final loss to Brazil in 2002.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
One reason for the fascination with Musk’s status as a “trillionaire” may be the very human difficulty of grasping such a big number.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Abel had never enjoyed shaking hands with his frog friends, but he enjoyed grasping Gower’s.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
