lay hold of

Idioms and Phrases

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 .

Example Sentences

He laid his hands upon my shoulders, and added in a solemn whisper: “Avail yourself of this evening to lay hold of his portable property. You don’t know what may happen to him. Don’t let anything happen to the portable property.”

From Literature

“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

I lay hold of my rifle to see that it is in trim.

From Literature

They are soundless apparitions that speak to me, with looks and gestures silently, without any word—and it is the alarm of their silence that forces me to lay hold of my sleeve and my rifle lest I should abandon myself to the liberation and allurement in which my body would dilate and gently pass away into the still forces that lie behind these things.

From Literature

Related Words

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