| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| grasp |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  gr sp |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: grasped, grasp·ing, grasps
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To take hold of or seize firmly with or as if with the hand. 2. To clasp firmly with or as if with the hand. 3. To take hold of intellectually; comprehend. See synonyms at apprehend. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To make a motion of seizing, snatching, or clutching. 2. To show eager and prompt willingness or acceptance: grasps at any opportunity. | | NOUN: | 1. The act of grasping. 2a. A firm hold or grip. b. An embrace. 3. The ability or power to seize or attain; reach: Victory in the election was within her grasp. 4. Understanding; comprehension: “only a vague intuitive grasp of the meaning of greatness in literature” (Gilbert Highet). | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English graspen. See ghrebh-1 in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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