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View synonyms for

grasp

[ grasp, grahsp ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms.

    Synonyms: , ,

    Antonyms:

  2. to seize upon; hold firmly.
  3. to get hold of mentally; comprehend; understand:

    I don't grasp your meaning.



verb (used without object)

  1. 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

  1. the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms:

    to make a grasp at something.

  2. a hold or grip:

    to have a firm grasp of a rope.

  3. one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping:

    He took her in his grasp.

  4. one's power of seizing and holding; reach:

    to have a thing within one's grasp.

  5. hold, possession, or mastery:

    to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.

    Synonyms:

  6. mental hold or capacity; power to understand.

    Synonyms: , ,

  7. broad or thorough comprehension:

    a good grasp of computer programming.

grasp

/ ɡɑː /

verb

  1. to grip (something) firmly with or as if with the hands
  2. whenintr, often foll by at to struggle, snatch, or grope (for)
  3. tr to understand, esp with effort
“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

noun

  1. the act of grasping
  2. a grip or clasp, as of a hand
  3. the capacity to accomplish (esp in the phrase within one's grasp )
  4. total rule or possession
  5. understanding; comprehension
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ, noun
  • ˈ貹, adjective
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Other yvlog Forms

  • a· adjective
  • İ noun
  • l adjective
  • · verb (used with object)
  • un·a· adjective
  • ܲ· adjective
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of grasp1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English graspen, grapsen; cognate with Low German grapsen; akin to Old English 𲵰æ辱 “to seize” ( grapple )
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of grasp1

C14: from Low German grapsen; related to Old English æ辱 to seize, Old Norse to steal
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with grasp , also see get a fix on (grasp of) .
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Synonym Study

See catch. 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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Neither Trump, nor Blanche nor Martin seems to grasp the difference between a private attorney and one in the public sector, despite serving as president, Deputy AG, and an interim U.S.

From

He was uninterested, or perhaps unable to understand, the reason why America had been the "free world's" security guarantor during the Cold War and almost certainly failed to grasp the complexities of the nuclear age.

From

While each makes consequential compromises in the face of survival, it’s Ursula who never fully grasps the extent of the experience of life in the camps.

From

Machine Gun Kelly announced the arrival of his baby with Megan Fox, posting black-and-white video Thursday showing tiny hands grasping at his fingers.

From

In the letter, he recounted emigrating from India to the United States in 1974 with just $6 in his pocket and small grasp of English.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from 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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