grope
verb /ɡrəʊp/
/ɡrəʊp/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they grope | /ɡrəʊp/ /ɡrəʊp/ |
| he / she / it gropes | /ɡrəʊps/ /ɡrəʊps/ |
| past simple groped | /ɡrəʊpt/ /ɡrəʊpt/ |
| past participle groped | /ɡrəʊpt/ /ɡrəʊpt/ |
| -ing form groping | /ˈɡrəʊpɪŋ/ /ˈɡrəʊpɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] grope (around) (for something) to try and find something that you cannot see, by feeling with your hands
- He groped around in the dark for his other sock.
- She groped for the railing to steady her as she fell.
- (figurative) ‘It’s so…, so…’ I was groping for the right word to describe it.
Extra Examples- She groped blindly for the door handle.
- I groped for the light switch.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- blindly
- about
- around
- …
- for
- grope your way
- [transitive, intransitive] to try and reach a place by feeling with your hands because you cannot see clearly
- grope your way + adv./prep. He groped his way up the staircase in the dark.
- + adv./prep. She groped through the darkness towards the doors.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- blindly
- about
- around
- …
- for
- grope your way
- [transitive] grope somebody (informal) to touch somebody sexually, especially when they do not want you to
- She described how he had groped her whenever they were alone.
Word OriginOld English grāpian, of West Germanic origin; related to gripe.