Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

grasp

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb [transitive] British English pronunciation: grasp /ɡrɑːsp/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theygrasp
he/she/itgrasps
present participlegrasping
past tensegrasped
past participlegrasped
  1. 1
    to take and hold something or someone very tightly

    She grasped his hand and pulled him towards her.

    grasp someone by the shoulders/arm/wrist etc:

    He grasped her firmly by the shoulders.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  graspThesaurus entry for this meaning of grasp
  2. 2
    to understand something

    He was finding it difficult to grasp the rules of the game.

    grasp the meaning/significance of something:

    You should try to grasp the meaning of whole sentences.

    grasp a concept/principle/point:

    Charlie grasped the point at once.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  graspThesaurus entry for this meaning of grasp
  3. 3
    to take advantage of an opportunity when it happens

    We must grasp every opportunity if we are going to succeed.

    He had failed to grasp his one chance of happiness.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  graspThesaurus entry for this meaning of grasp

phrasal verbs

See also

This is the British English definition of grasp. View American English definition of grasp.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

soapstone

a type of soft stone that is often carved to make decorations

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog