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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

grasp.

To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɡɹɑːsp/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɹæsp/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɹasp/Northern-England, Scotland/ɡɹæsp/General-American
  1. To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.

  2. To understand.

    I have never been able to grasp the concept of infinity.
  3. To take advantage of something, to seize, to jump at a chance.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English graspen, grapsen, craspen (“to grope; feel around”), from Old English *grǣpsian, from Proto-West Germanic *graipisōn, from Proto-Germanic *graipisōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), the same ultimate source as grab. Cognate with Saterland Frisian grapsje (“to grab, grasp”), German Low German grapsen (“to grab; grasp”), German grapsen and grapschen, Old English grāpian ("to touch, feel, grasp"; > Modern English grope). Compare also Swedish krafsa (“to scatch; scabble”), Norwegian krafse (“to scramble”).

noun/ɡɹɑːsp/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɹæsp/Received-Pronunciation/ɡɹasp/Northern-England, Scotland/ɡɹæsp/General-American
  1. Grip.

    figuratively · sometimes
    A vagrant gust of wind snatched the note from my grasp.
    in the tyrant's grasp
  2. Understanding.

  3. That which is accessible; that which is within one's reach or ability.

    The goal is within my grasp.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English graspen, grapsen, craspen (“to grope; feel around”), from Old English *grǣpsian, from Proto-West Germanic *graipisōn, from Proto-Germanic *graipisōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), the same ultimate source as grab. Cognate with Saterland Frisian grapsje (“to grab, grasp”), German Low German grapsen (“to grab; grasp”), German grapsen and grapschen, Old English grāpian ("to touch, feel, grasp"; > Modern English grope). Compare also Swedish krafsa (“to scatch; scabble”), Norwegian krafse (“to scramble”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.