come to grips with
noun
1.
the act of grasping; a seizing and holding fast; firm grasp.
2.
the power of gripping: He has a strong grip.
3.
a grasp, hold, or control.
4.
mental or intellectual hold: to have a good grip on a problem.
5.
competence or firmness in dealing with situations in one's work or personal affairs: The boss is old and is losing his grip.
6.
a special mode of clasping hands: Members of the club use the secret grip.
7.
something that seizes and holds, as a clutching device on a cable car.
8.
a handle or hilt: That knife has a very unusual grip.
9.
a sudden, sharp pain; spasm of pain.
10.
11.
Older Use. a small traveling bag.
12.
a.
Theater. a stagehand, especially one who works on the stage floor.
b.
Movies, Television. a general assistant available on a film set for shifting scenery, moving furniture, etc.
verb (used with object)
13.
to grasp or seize firmly; hold fast: We gripped the sides of the boat as the waves tossed us about.
14.
to take hold on; hold the interest of: to grip the mind.
15.
to attach by a grip or clutch.
00:10
Come to grips with
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms 16.
to take firm hold; hold fast.
17.
to take hold on the mind.
18.
come to grips with,
a.
to encounter; meet; cope with: She had never come to grips with such a situation before.
b.
to deal with directly or firmly: We didn't come to grips with the real problem.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English gripe grasp (noun); cognate with German Griff, Old English gripa handful; see gripe
before 900; Middle English, Old English gripe grasp (noun); cognate with German Griff, Old English gripa handful; see gripe
Related forms
grip·less, adjective
re·grip, verb, re·gripped or re·gript, re·grip·ping.
un·grip, verb, un·gripped, un·grip·ping.
Synonyms
14. impress, attract, rivet, hold, fascinate.
14. impress, attract, rivet, hold, fascinate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To come to grips with
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World English Dictionary
grip1 (ɡrɪp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act or an instance of grasping and holding firmly: he lost his grip on the slope |
| 2. | Also called: handgrip the strength or pressure of such a grasp, as in a handshake: a feeble grip |
| 3. | the style or manner of grasping an object, such as a tennis racket |
| 4. | understanding, control, or mastery of a subject, problem, etc (esp in such phrases as getorhave a grip on) |
| 5. | Also called: handgrip a part by which an object is grasped; handle |
| 6. | Also called: handgrip a travelling bag or holdall |
| 7. | See hairgrip |
| 8. | any device that holds by friction, such as certain types of brake |
| 9. | a method of clasping or shaking hands used by members of secret societies to greet or identify one another |
| 10. | a spasm of pain: a grip in one's stomach |
| 11. | a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc |
| 12. | a small drainage channel cut above an excavation to conduct surface water away from the excavation |
| 13. | ( |
| a. to deal with (a problem or subject) | |
| b. to tackle (an assailant) | |
| —vb , grips, gripping, gripped | |
| 14. | to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch |
| 15. | to hold the interest or attention of: to grip an audience |
| [Old English gripe grasp; related to Old Norse gripr property, Old High German grif] | |
| 'gripper1 | |
| —n | |
| 'grippingly1 | |
| —adv | |
| grip2 (ɡrɪp) | |
| —n | |
| med a variant spelling of grippe | |
| grippe or grip (ɡrɪp) | |
| —n | |
| a former name for influenza | |
| [C18: from French grippe, from gripper to seize, of Germanic origin; see | |
| grip or grip | |
| —n | |
| [C18: from French grippe, from gripper to seize, of Germanic origin; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
grip
O.E. grippan "to grip" (class I strong verb; past tense grap, pp. gripen), from W.Gmc. *gripjan (cf. O.H.G. gripfen), from root of gripe (q.v.). The noun developed from fusion of O.E. gripe "grasp, clutch" and gripa "handful, sheaf." Meaning "stage hand" is from 1888, from
their work shifting scenery. Gripping in fig. sense of "grasping the emotions" is from 1896.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
come to grips with
Confront squarely, deal decisively with, as in Her stories help the children come to grips with upsetting events. This term, sometimes put as get to grips with, employs grip in the sense of a "tight hold." [Mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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