lay hold of

Idioms  

1. Grasp, seize on, as in He clutched at branches, shrubs, anything he could lay hold of to break his fall. [First half of 1500s] Also see get hold of.

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Example Sentences

“There are countries you visit that lay hold of you and don’t let go, even if you diligently attempt to remain a tourist.”

From New York Times

But now he intends to lay hold of the best, most perfect part of the city, to claim for his own purposes a civic celebration that has long been a festival of diversity, inclusion and old-fashioned, mostly apolitical fun.

From Washington Post

Merry and he had drawn their swords, but the Orcs did not wish to fight, and had tried only to lay hold of them, even when Merry had cut off several of their arms and hands.

From Literature

How did the group lay hold of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, in less than a week—and of Fallujah, Ramadi, Tikrit, vast swaths of countryside?

From National Geographic

The portly and middle-aged ghost of the fiancée’s father comes onscreen by means of an ordinary double exposure, with the décor and the action seemingly visible through him; he’s able to lay hold of objects and move them, to comic effect, without being seen or heard.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• accept
• arrest
• capture
• collect
• earn
• grab
• have
• hold
• pick up
• reach
• receive
• seize
• win