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View synonyms for

grasp

[ grasp, grahsp ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms.

    Synonyms: , ,

    Antonyms:

  2. to seize upon; hold firmly.
  3. to get hold of mentally; comprehend; understand:

    I don't grasp your meaning.



verb (used without object)

  1. to make an attempt to seize, or a motion of seizing, something (usually followed by at or for ):

    a drowning man grasping at straws; to grasp for an enemy's rifle.

noun

  1. the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms:

    to make a grasp at something.

  2. a hold or grip:

    to have a firm grasp of a rope.

  3. one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping:

    He took her in his grasp.

  4. one's power of seizing and holding; reach:

    to have a thing within one's grasp.

  5. hold, possession, or mastery:

    to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.

    Synonyms:

  6. mental hold or capacity; power to understand.

    Synonyms: , ,

  7. broad or thorough comprehension:

    a good grasp of computer programming.

grasp

/ ɡɑː /

verb

  1. to grip (something) firmly with or as if with the hands
  2. whenintr, often foll by at to struggle, snatch, or grope (for)
  3. tr to understand, esp with effort
“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

noun

  1. the act of grasping
  2. a grip or clasp, as of a hand
  3. the capacity to accomplish (esp in the phrase within one's grasp )
  4. total rule or possession
  5. understanding; comprehension
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ, noun
  • ˈ貹, adjective
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Other Word Forms

  • a· adjective
  • İ noun
  • l adjective
  • · verb (used with object)
  • un·a· adjective
  • ܲ· adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of grasp1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English graspen, grapsen; cognate with Low German grapsen; akin to Old English 𲵰æ辱 “to seize” ( grapple )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of grasp1

C14: from Low German grapsen; related to Old English æ辱 to seize, Old Norse to steal
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with grasp , also see get a fix on (grasp of) .
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Synonym Study

See catch. Grasp, reach refer to the power of seizing, either concretely or figuratively. Grasp suggests actually seizing and closing the hand upon something (or, figuratively, thoroughly comprehending something) and therefore refers to what is within one's possession or immediate possibility of possession: a good grasp of a problem; immense mental grasp. Reach suggests a stretching out of (usually) the hand to touch, strike, or, if possible, seize something; it therefore refers to a potentiality of possession that requires an effort. Figuratively, it implies perhaps a faint conception of something still too far beyond one to be definitely and clearly understood.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Still, Oliver’s work is as essential to his audience’s grasp on current events as “60 Minutes” is to journalism at large.

From

No one with a rudimentary grasp of how nation-states function in the 21st century could possibly entertain this notion.

From

Slot comes across as likeable, approachable and intelligent in interviews, although there were occasions in his early days when he struggled to grasp the local dialect.

From

He then fetched a lifebuoy and repeatedly threw a line to the struggling paddleboarders but none were able to grasp it.

From

And in the Simpsons neuron case, for example, it was just a subset of neurons in the medial temporal lobe that behaved with extreme specificity to enable patients to quickly grasp the relevant concept.

From

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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.

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Grasmeregrasp at straws