grasp

[ grasp, grahsp ]

verb (used with object)

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

   Synonyms: grab, clutch, grip

   Antonyms: release

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: clutches

6. mental hold or capacity; power to understand.

   Synonyms: comprehension, apprehension, understanding

7. broad or thorough comprehension:

   a good grasp of computer programming.

grasp

/ ɡrɑːsp /

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

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

Derived Forms

• ˈgrasper, noun
• ˈgraspable, adjective

Other Words From

• graspa·ble adjective
• grasper noun
• graspless adjective
• re·grasp verb (used with object)
• un·graspa·ble adjective
• un·grasped adjective

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 gegræppian “to seize” ( grapple )

Word History and Origins

Origin of grasp¹

C14: from Low German grapsen; related to Old English græppian to seize, Old Norse grāpa to steal

Idioms and Phrases

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

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.

Example Sentences

I am doubtful that the majority who chose to reject America’s first female president and a woman of color fully grasped the scale of destruction that voting for Trump will unleash, but they soon will.

From Salon

Its envoys could only grasp for minor wins such as pauses in the fighting or opening checkpoints for aid convoys.

From BBC

As new attitudes and styles arrived — the avant-garde of the 1960s, the fusion of the ’70s and ’80s — he quickly grasped their techniques and incorporated them into his own persistent musical vision.

From Los Angeles Times

Canter accepts he needs "a really good week" to secure a spot on the elite American circuit, but it is within his grasp.

From BBC

Through a small square window, hands desperately grasp at the bags of bread as money is handed over.

From BBC

Related Words

• accept
• appreciate
• comprehend
• fathom
• perceive
• pick up
• realize