grope
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to seek by or as if by groping.
to grope one's way up the dark stairs.
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Slang. to touch or fondle (someone) for sexual pleasure, especially without the person’s consent.
noun
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an act or instance of groping.
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Slang. an act or instance of sexually fondling another person.
verb
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to feel or search about uncertainly (for something) with the hands
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(intr; usually foll by for or after) to search uncertainly or with difficulty (for a solution, answer, etc)
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(tr) to find or make (one's way) by groping
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slang (tr) to feel or fondle the body of (someone) for sexual gratification
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gropesimple
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gropessimple
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have gropedperfect
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has gropedperfect
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am gropingprogressive
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are gropingprogressive
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is gropingprogressive
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have been gropingperfect progressive
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has been gropingperfect progressive
Past
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gropedsimple
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had gropedperfect
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was gropingprogressive
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were gropingprogressive
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had been gropingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grope
Before 900; Middle English gropien, Old English grāpian, derivative of grāp “grasp”; akin to gripe, grasp
Explanation
When you grope for something, you try to get a grip on it. If you drop your flashlight in a dark cave, you might grope around for it. Beware of snakes! If you're asked a question and you grope for an answer, you're at a loss for words. And if you can't find your cellphone, you might grope around in your backpack, hoping it just got buried beneath your homework. You can also grope another person, although I wouldn't recommend it: grope is usually used to describe touching that is unwanted.
Vocabulary lists containing grope
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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The Cay
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"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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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.
Mukesh became the first seamer other than Bumrah or Anderson to take a wicket in the series and the stage was set for Ashwin, only for Bumrah to whistle through Hartley's defensive grope.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2024
You grope your way through the phantom market, sometimes to the amused observation of waiting visitors.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2023
The grinning actors grope for meaning that lies beneath.
From Washington Post • Apr. 26, 2023
“I began to grope around in the rubble,” she said.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2022
One of them mimed reaching up high, as though to grope for something on a shelf, and his companion laughed.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
