groping
Americanadjective
-
moving or going about clumsily or hesitantly; stumbling.
-
showing or reflecting a desire to understand, especially something that proves puzzling.
a groping scrutiny; a groping expression.
Other Word Forms
- gropingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of groping
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.
Vandier said AI is turning military intelligence analysis from a task of groping in darkness for targets to one of sifting through piles of them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
Selecting Isak ahead of him lacked logic, smacking of a manager groping for answers, almost trying to get an expensive signing to play himself into the team.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
The American people will be left groping in the dark.
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2025
“One leg, two legs — got it,” Dave Laithwaite, a volunteer at the sanctuary, said while groping around in the mud in the kiwi’s narrow den.
From New York Times • May 17, 2024
He was still moving in a detached halfdream, not fully aware of anything except a curious vague groping in his mind.
From "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper
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.
