grasp
[ grasp, grahsp ]
/ græsp, grɑsp /
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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
Origin of grasp
1350–1400; Middle English
graspen, grapsen; cognate with Low German
grapsen; akin to Old English
gegræppian to seize (see
grapple)
SYNONYMS FOR grasp
synonym study for grasp
1. See
catch.
10.
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM grasp
Words nearby grasp
Example sentences from the Web for grasp
British Dictionary definitions for grasp
grasp
/ (ɡrɑːsp) /
verb
noun
Derived forms of grasp
graspable, adjective grasper, nounWord Origin for grasp
C14: from Low German
grapsen; related to Old English
græppian to seize, Old Norse
grāpa to steal
Idioms and Phrases with grasp
grasp