Verb The little boy gripped his mother's hand tightly. I gripped the door handle and pulled as hard as I could. The story really grips the reader. The scandal has gripped the nation. Noun His tennis instructor showed him the proper backhand grip. a golfer with an incorrect grip He has been doing all he can to maintain his grip on the company's finances. I need new grips for my golf clubs. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
This story will grip you — and frustrate you — to the last word.Longreads, 8 Sep. 2022 First, grip the handles with your thumbs pointing up and your knuckles facing out. Jenny Mccoy, Outside Online, 31 Aug. 2022 Ultimately, the Sox couldn’t grip any of them tight enough, and their final three games before the All-Star break are at Yankee Stadium against MLB-leading New York. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 15 July 2022 Love, death, and betrayal are surefire ingredients to grip any audience from ancient Greece to today, but without the right sets, actors, costumes, and lighting, no drama can carry weight in real time. Camille Okhio, ELLE Decor, 24 Aug. 2022 One of the notable times that happened was in 1894, when Pullman workers went on a strike that grew to grip the entire nation. Paul Eisenberg, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022 The device includes a striker that doubles as a mini multitool and the handle is easy to grip. Chris Meehan, Popular Mechanics, 14 Aug. 2022 The chef’s knife is heavy with a rubber handle that’s easy to grip, and there’s a nice curve at the bottom to rest your finger. Rennie Dyball, Peoplemag, 8 Aug. 2022 Harry's Truman razor handles are top-notch — they're weighted and easy to grip. Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 25 July 2022
Noun
The weakened air conditioning system comes at an inopportune time, when the region is in the grip of a suffocating heat wave expected to continue for most of the week. Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2022 Southern California remains in the grip of the worst heat wave of the year — with scorching conditions expected through midweek. Ben Poston, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2022 Now, two decades later, those fields are on fire, my hometown is in the grip of war and the neat professionals of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been taken hostage by the occupiers and work under huge physical and psychological pressures. Sasha Dovzhyk, CNN, 2 Sep. 2022 California is in the grip of a prolonged heat wave.CBS News, 2 Sep. 2022 The program began in January when the country was in the grip of the initial Omicron surge. Martin Finucane, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2022 Britain is also in the grip of an energy-price crisis for businesses, whose rates aren’t subject to a cap. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022 By last August, Iran was in the grip of its worst coronavirus wave, with more than 50,000 infections a day at its peak. Yeganeh Torbati, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2022 By the late eighties, America was in the grip of a sweepstakes mania. Jeff Maysh, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English grippen, from Old English grippan; akin to Old English grīpan
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of grip was before the 12th century