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
Etymology
Origin of groping
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at grope, -ing 2
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.
“You’re groping in the dark a little bit more.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 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
“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
“We are but darkened groping souls, that know not the light often because of its very blinding radiance,” wrote W.E.B.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2024
I stared at him blankly, my mind groping for connections.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
