grip.
To take hold (of), particularly with the hand.
Meaning & usage
To take hold (of), particularly with the hand.
That suitcase is heavy, so grip the handle firmly.
Unfortunately the glue didn't grip, and the whole thing came apart.
To figuratively take hold of or grasp.
We need to grip this problem, not shut our eyes and hope it goes away.
Of an emotion or situation: to have a strong effect upon.
As the water level began to rise, I was gripped by panic.
To firmly hold the attention of.
The movie gripped me from beginning to end.
Where this word comes from
Verb from Middle English grippen, from Old English grippan, from a Proto-Germanic *gripjaną (compare Old High German gripfen); compare the related Old English grīpan, whence English gripe. See also grope, and the related Proto-Germanic *grīpaną. Noun from Middle English grippe, gripe, an amalgam of Old English gripe (“grasp, hold”) (cognate with German Griff) and Old English gripa (“handful”) (cognate with Swedish grepp).
A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand.
It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.
The ball will move differently depending on the grip used when throwing it.
Ability to resist slippage when pressed in contact with another object or surface.
These tyres are worn out and don't have much grip.
A place to grip; a handle; the portion of a handle that the hand occupies.
There are several good grips on the northern face of this rock.
The grip of a sword is part of its hilt.
A place to grip; a handle; the portion of a handle that the hand occupies. Ellipsis of pistol grip.
A device, or a portion of one, that grasps or holds fast to something.
The unthreaded portion of the bolt's shank is called the grip.
A device, or a portion of one, that grasps or holds fast to something. An apparatus attached to a car (e.g., cable car, funicular car, mine car) for clutching a traction cable.
Control, power, or mastery over someone or something; a tenacious grasp; a holding fast.
We need to get a grip on these spiralling costs.
in the grip of a blackmailer
Mental grasp.
He's losing his grip – he's practically senile.
For God's sake man, stop panicking and get a grip of yourself!
A medium-sized bag or holdall for one's belongings, made of soft leather, canvas etc., and carried in the hand by two handles, one either side of the opening.
A visual component on a window etc. enabling it to be resized and/or moved by dragging with a mouse or finger.
A person responsible for handling equipment on the set.
As much as one can hold in a hand; a handful.
I need to get a grip of nails for my project.
A lot of something.
That is a grip of cheese.
A long time.
I haven't seen you in a grip.
Archaic spelling of grippe (“influenza”).
She has the grip.
A small travelling-bag or gripsack.
Where this word comes from
Verb from Middle English grippen, from Old English grippan, from a Proto-Germanic *gripjaną (compare Old High German gripfen); compare the related Old English grīpan, whence English gripe. See also grope, and the related Proto-Germanic *grīpaną. Noun from Middle English grippe, gripe, an amalgam of Old English gripe (“grasp, hold”) (cognate with German Griff) and Old English gripa (“handful”) (cognate with Swedish grepp).
A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain.
A channel cut through a grass verge, especially for the purpose of draining water away from the highway.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English grip, grippe, gryppe (“a ditch, drain”), from Old English grēp (“a furrow, burrow”) and grēpe (“a furrow, ditch, drain”), from Proto-Germanic *grōpiz (“a furrow, groove”). Cognate with Middle Dutch grippe, gruppe (“ditch, drain”), greppe, German Low German Gruppe (“ditch, drain”). Related also to Old English grōp (“a ditch, drain”). More at groop.
To trench; to drain.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English grip, grippe, gryppe (“a ditch, drain”), from Old English grēp (“a furrow, burrow”) and grēpe (“a furrow, ditch, drain”), from Proto-Germanic *grōpiz (“a furrow, groove”). Cognate with Middle Dutch grippe, gruppe (“ditch, drain”), greppe, German Low German Gruppe (“ditch, drain”). Related also to Old English grōp (“a ditch, drain”). More at groop.
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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.