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.
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Grasperis always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Synonyms 1. grip, clutch; grab. See catch.9. clutches. 10. scope, comprehension. 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.
1382, possibly metathesis of O.E. *græpsan "to touch, feel," from P.Gmc. *graipison (cf. E.Fris. grapsen "to grasp"), from root *graip (see grope). Originally "to reach for, feel around;" sense of "seize" first recorded mid-16c.