grasp
/ɡrɑːsp
/verb [with object]
1Seize and hold firmly: she grasped the bottle Edward grasped her by the wrist...
- Her eyes pleaded with him, her hand still firmly grasping his.
- Still firmly grasping Ethan by the arm, Giles propelled him to Melissa's side.
- John grasped Rob firmly by the wrist and moved toward the door.
Synonyms
grip, clutch, clasp, hold, clench, lay hold of;
catch, seize, grab, snatch, latch on to, catch at, grapple, get one's hands on
1.1Take (an opportunity) eagerly: many companies grasped the opportunity to expand...
- The Party eagerly grasped the opportunity to use his celebrity status to raise its public profile.
- The uncertainties and hazards that made war so unpredictable and uncontrollable were not barriers to be eliminated but opportunities to be grasped and exploited.
- Similarly, the opportunity should be grasped to ease internal tensions.
Synonyms
take advantage of, act on;
seize, grasp with both hands, grab (at), leap at, snatch, jump at, pounce on
1.2Comprehend fully: the press failed to grasp the significance of what had happened...
- Here again, the significance of this development can only be fully grasped on the basis of Marx's analysis of the commodity form.
- The ultimate power of advances such as cable and satellite could not be fully grasped in the 1960s.
- I know that this state of affairs is not fully grasped by the general public in Europe and North America.
Synonyms
understand, comprehend, follow, take in, realize, perceive, see, apprehend, assimilate, absorb, make sense of, master, get to the bottom of, penetrate
informal get, catch on to, figure out, get one's head around, get a fix on, take on board, get the picture, get the drift, make head or tail of
British informal twig, suss (out)
noun [in singular]
1A firm hold or grip: the child slipped from her grasp...
- Scott stepped forward, and took my hand in a firm grasp, kissing it lightly.
- She tried to rip her wrist out of his grip but his grasp was too firm.
- He placed a firm grasp on her shoulders and looked into her eyes that were welled with tears.
Synonyms
grip, hold;
clutch, clasp, clench
1.1A person’s power or capacity to attain something: he knew success was within his grasp...
- There are those who snigger that it was a fine strategy by the old comrades, who have perfected the art of using each other for keeping power within their grasp.
- But the grasp of politicians on power is not likely to loosen quickly and the alternative democratic leadership is slow to develop.
- Many are walking around dazed and bewildered at the shape of things and the grasp of power.
Synonyms
reach, scope, capacity, power, limits, range, compass
1.2A person’s understanding: meanings that are beyond my grasp his grasp of detail...
- You have to understand and have a grasp of what is going to happen.
- They were encouraged to solve their own problems, which, I suspect, gave them an intuitive grasp of the concept that not all problems can be solved.
- Linux novices often find virtual memory mysterious, but with a grasp of the fundamental concepts, it's easy to understand.
Synonyms
understanding, comprehension, perception, apprehension, awareness, grip, conception, realization, knowledge, cognizance, ken;
mastery, command;
insight, familiarity
Phrases
grasp at straws
grasp the nettle
Derivatives
graspable
/ adjective ...- The assumption is that things graspable by intellect alone belong to a realm above the material, corporeal world and hence are timeless.
- For another thing, it robs you of the kind of moral focus that makes for more unambiguous, and thus easily graspable, art.
- Just as a nuclear physicist can say words that have no meaning to me, an actor can use the words ‘rhythm’ or ‘intention’, and mean something very specific that is not easily graspable by those who haven't studied it.
grasper
- It's time for them to stand up to the grabbers and graspers.
- These trocars allow for passage of long, fiber-optic telescopes and narrow instruments, such as graspers, scissors, babcocks, and staplers, to perform the surgical procedure.
- The graspers get more food, more resources and will always out-compete the misers, because when there are resources, the misers get less for their children.
Origin
Late Middle English: perhaps related to grope.