# grip

Pronunciation: say "GRIP" /ɡɹɪp/

## Verb

1. To take hold of something, especially with the hand.
   - Simple: To take hold of something tightly with your hand.
   - _He gripped the steering wheel as the car skidded._
   - _She reached out to grip at the edge of the cliff._
6. To take hold of or grasp something in a figurative sense.
   - Simple: To take hold of an idea or feeling, as if with your hand.
   - _The students struggled to grip the abstract concept._
   - _She gripped the truth of the situation only slowly._
7. To firmly hold the attention or interest of someone.
   - Simple: To hold someone's attention so they cannot look away.
   - _The thriller gripped audiences until the final scene._
   - _A well-told mystery can grip even reluctant readers._
8. Of a feeling or situation, to take hold of someone and affect them powerfully.
   - Simple: To affect someone very strongly, the way fear or panic can.
   - _Terror gripped the village as the floodwaters rose._
   - _Anxiety can grip a person before a big exam._
24. To cut a trench or drainage channel in land, especially in order to draw off water. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: To dig a small ditch to drain water away from land.
   - _Farmers grip the wet pasture every fall to carry off the standing water._
   - _They decided to grip the boggy corner of the field before plowing._

## Noun

2. A hold on something, or the particular way the hand holds it.
   - Simple: The way you hold something with your hand.
   - _His grip on the rope loosened as his arms tired._
   - _The coach adjusted her grip on the racket._
3. The ability to resist slipping when pressed against another object or surface.
   - Simple: How well something holds on without sliding or slipping.
   - _The climbing shoes provide excellent grip on smooth rock._
   - _Worn tires lose grip in heavy rain._
4. Control, power, or mastery over someone or something: a firm, tenacious hold.
   - Simple: Strong control or power over someone or something.
   - _The party tightened its grip on the national media._
   - _Years of debt kept a relentless grip on the family._
5. A handle, or the part of a handle where the hand is placed.
   - Simple: The part of an object that you hold with your hand.
   - _The pistol's rubber grip absorbed some of the recoil._
   - _She replaced the worn grip on her golf club._
9. An understanding or mental hold on a subject or idea.
   - Simple: A clear understanding of something in your mind.
   - _After weeks of study, she had a solid grip on the material._
   - _He felt his grip on reality slipping during the crisis._
10. A crew member responsible for handling and setting up equipment on a film or television set.
   - Simple: A worker who moves and sets up equipment on a film set.
   - _The grip rigged the dolly track before the morning shoot._
   - _An experienced grip knows how to stabilize a camera on uneven ground._
11. A device or component used for keeping a firm hold on something.
   - Simple: A part or tool that holds tightly onto something.
   - _The robotic arm's grip closed around the fragile sample._
   - _A spring-loaded grip held the cable firmly to the rail._
12. Assistance, help, or encouragement given to someone.
   - Simple: Help, support, or encouragement given to someone.
   - _With a little grip from his neighbors, the farmer rebuilt the barn._
   - _The charity offered a steady grip to families in need._
13. The quantity that a single hand can hold; a handful. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The amount of something you can hold in one hand.
   - _He pulled a grip of fries from the bag and shared them around._
   - _She handed me a grip of coins to feed the parking meter._
14. A visual control on a window or similar element that lets you resize or move it by dragging with a mouse or finger.
   - Simple: A small part of a window you drag with the mouse or a finger to move or resize it.
   - _She dragged the grip at the bottom edge to make the panel taller._
   - _Each window has a grip in the corner for resizing it with the mouse._
15. Someone people admire, are inspired by, find interesting, or can rely on for help.
   - Simple: A person who is helpful, interesting, or someone you look up to.
   - _The mentor everyone wanted was a genuine grip, generous with both time and ideas._
   - _He turned out to be a grip, the kind of leader who lifts everyone around him._
16. A medium-sized soft bag of leather or canvas, carried in the hand by two handles, one on each side of the opening.
   - Simple: A medium-sized soft bag with two handles, used to carry your things by hand.
   - _Her canvas grip held everything she needed for the overnight trip._
   - _He swung his grip up onto the luggage rack and settled into his seat._
17. A device attached to a cable car, funicular, or mine car that clamps onto a moving traction cable to drive the car.
   - Simple: A part fixed to a cable car that grabs the moving cable to pull the car along.
   - _When the gripman pulls the lever, the grip clamps onto the cable beneath the street._
   - _Releasing the grip lets the cable car coast gently to a stop._
18. A large amount or quantity of something. *(dialectal, California, Southern)*
   - Simple: A large amount of something.
   - _We saved up a grip of cash before starting the renovation._
   - _There were a grip of people lined up outside the new store._
19. A long stretch of time. *(dialectal, California, Southern)*
   - Simple: A long period of time.
   - _It's been a grip since the whole family was together in one place._
   - _She stood in line for a grip before reaching the counter._
20. A small traveling bag carried by hand for one's belongings on a journey; a gripsack.
   - Simple: A small bag for carrying clothes and things while you travel.
   - _The porter offered to carry her grip to the platform._
   - _He kept his ticket and wallet tucked inside his grip._
22. A small ditch or trench cut to carry off water or other liquid; a drainage channel. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A small ditch or channel that carries water away.
   - _They dug a grip across the boggy ground to draw off the standing water._
   - _Water from the yard ran into the grip and away toward the brook._
23. A channel cut through a grass verge, especially to drain water away from a highway.
   - Simple: A small channel cut through the grassy strip beside a road to drain water away.
   - _The council cut a fresh grip along the verge to ease the flooding._
   - _Surface water poured off the road and into the grip beside it._

## Noun

21. Archaic spelling of grippe. *(archaic)* — Archaic spelling of grippe (“influenza”).
   - Simple: Archaic spelling of grippe. An old word for the flu.
   - _The doctor said the grip was spreading through the whole town._
   - _She nursed her children through the grip during the cold months._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–21** — The verb comes from Middle English grippen, from Old English grippan, from Proto-Germanic *gripjaną, and is related to Old English grīpan (source of English gripe) and to grope. The noun comes from Middle English grippe or gripe, blending Old English gripe ("grasp, hold," cognate with German Griff) and gripa ("handful," cognate with Swedish grepp).
**Meanings 22–24** — This sense comes from Middle English grip or grippe ("a ditch, drain"), from Old English grēp and grēpe ("a furrow, ditch, drain"), from Proto-Germanic *grōpiz ("a furrow, groove"). It is cognate with Middle Dutch grippe ("ditch, drain") and related to Old English grōp.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/grip (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).