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grappling

American  
[grap-ling] / ˈgræp lɪŋ /

noun

  1. grapnel.

grappling British  
/ ˈɡræplɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling

  2. a hook used for securing something

"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

Other Word Forms

  • ungrappling adjective

Etymology

Origin of grappling

First recorded in 1590–1600; grapple + -ing 1

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.

They seemed to be genuinely grappling with the administration’s arguments about why the long-accepted understanding of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause is wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Strategy Inc., the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, may be grappling with the same question.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

“Markest are grappling with the fact that they expected this to be over on short order.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

The party is also filling a void left by a conservative opposition which is grappling with infighting and a failure to appeal to younger voters and women.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Parents all around the country, we knew, were grappling with the same thing.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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.