grapple
grapple Lexical Profile
grapple Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To struggle or work hard to deal with or overcome a complex problem, challenge, or difficulty (usually followed by 'with').
"Local policymakers continue to grapple with the economic effects of the housing shortage."
To engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; to wrestle.
"The security guards had to grapple with the unruly intruder before escorting him out of the stadium."
To seize, hold, or fasten firmly with or as if with a hooked instrument or hands.
"The salvage crew used steel cables to grapple the sunken hull and raise it to the surface."
• noun
An iron instrument with claws or hooks, attached to a rope or mechanical arm and used for seizing, holding, or lifting heavy objects.
"The forestry crew used a hydraulic grapple to load the fallen timber onto the flatbed truck."
A close hand-to-hand struggle, wrestling hold, or firm grip.
"The two wrestlers were locked in a fierce grapple near the edge of the mat."
• Rhymes for grapple
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Old French grapil, meaning a small hook, a diminutive of grape (hook), which is ultimately of Germanic origin and akin to the English word 'grab'.