grasp
to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms.
to seize upon; hold firmly.
to get hold of mentally; comprehend; understand: I don't grasp your meaning.
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.
the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms: to make a grasp at something.
a hold or grip: to have a firm grasp of a rope.
one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping: He took her in his grasp.
one's power of seizing and holding; reach: to have a thing within one's grasp.
hold, possession, or mastery: to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.
mental hold or capacity; power to understand.
broad or thorough comprehension: a good grasp of computer programming.
Origin of grasp
1synonym study For grasp
Other words for grasp
Opposites for grasp
Other words from grasp
- grasp·a·ble, adjective
- grasper, noun
- graspless, adjective
- re·grasp, verb (used with object)
- un·grasp·a·ble, adjective
- un·grasped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for grasp
/ (ɡrɑːsp) /
to grip (something) firmly with or as if with the hands
(when intr, often foll by at) to struggle, snatch, or grope (for)
(tr) to understand, esp with effort
the act of grasping
a grip or clasp, as of a hand
the capacity to accomplish (esp in the phrase within one's grasp)
total rule or possession
understanding; comprehension
Origin of grasp
1Derived forms of grasp
- graspable, adjective
- grasper, noun
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 Idioms and Phrases with grasp
In addition to the idiom beginning with grasp
- grasp at straws
also see:
- get a fix on (grasp of)
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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