groping

[ groh-ping ]

/ ˈgroʊ pɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR groping ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Nearby words

grooved fricative, grooving saw, groovy, grope, groper, groping, gropius, gropius, walter, gropper, gros, gros de londres

Origin of groping

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at grope, -ing²

Related forms

grop·ing·ly, adverb

Definition for groping (2 of 2)

grope

[ grohp ]

/ groʊp /

verb (used without object), groped, grop·ing.

to feel about with the hands; feel one's way: I had to grope around in the darkness before I found the light switch.

to search blindly or uncertainly: He seemed to be groping for an answer to the question.

verb (used with object), groped, grop·ing.

to seek by or as if by groping: to grope one's way up the dark stairs.

to touch or handle (someone) for sexual pleasure.

noun

an act or instance of groping.

Slang. an act or instance of sexually fondling another person.

Origin of grope

before 900; Middle English gropien, Old English grāpian, derivative of grāp grasp; akin to gripe, grasp

SYNONYMS FOR grope

1 fumble, probe, fish.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR grope ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for groping

“He was groping for some way to phrase the emotions that usually were kept securely locked up,” said Eleanor.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address|Ray Robinson|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. Open of Surfing dissolved into vandalism, looting, and groping.
U.S. Open of Surfing Turns Into Riot|Mark Lukach|July 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Instead, Republicans are groping for answers as the slow march toward the fiscal cliff leaves them ever more divided.
Why the Fiscal Cliff Is Causing a Nervous Breakdown on the Right|Howard Kurtz|December 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They are groping for some modulation, some way to translate complicated moral intuitions into rules a society can live by.
How to End the Abortion Wars|David Frum|August 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

I understand that groping our way toward a shared justice will never be easy, nor will it be perfect.
Palestinian Children|Emily L. Hauser|June 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I had read many radical books of late, in my groping for a foothold, and I had found most of them dry affairs.
The Harbor|Ernest Poole
We went on groping our way, sometimes falling over logs, but managing again to recover our feet.
With Axe and Rifle|W.H.G. Kingston
He only knew that Binhart was dead, and that he himself was groping his way out into the night, a broken and desolate man.
The Shadow|Arthur Stringer
After about an hour's groping in the dark, we found an emergency cabin near the Mud Geyser.
Down the Yellowstone|Lewis R. Freeman
After that, with groping and smelling they came near to the faecal matter and the corrupted humours.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.|Francois Rabelais

British Dictionary definitions for groping

grope

/ (ɡrəʊp) /

verb

(intr usually foll by for) to feel or search about uncertainly (for something) with the hands

(intr; usually foll by for or after) to search uncertainly or with difficulty (for a solution, answer, etc)

(tr) to find or make (one's way) by groping

(tr) slang to feel or fondle the body of (someone) for sexual gratification

noun

the act of groping

Derived Forms

gropingly, adverb

Word Origin for grope

Old English grāpian; related to Old High German greifōn, Norwegian greipa; compare gripe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012