Grapple Meaning
/ˈɡɹæpəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo seize something and hold it firmly.
verbTo wrestle or tussle.
Sentence Examples
The Esperanto movement has always had to grapple with the problem of 'eternal beginners'.
to grapple with one's conscience
CEFR Practice Quiz
He reached out to ____ the rope tightly with both hands.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two wrestlers began to ____ with each other, trying to gain the upper hand in the intense match.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English *grapplen (“to seize, lay hold of”), from Old English *græpplian (“to seize”) (compare Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”)), from Proto-Germanic *graipilōną, *grabbalōną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), equivalent to grab + -le. Cognate with Dutch grabbelen (“to grope, scramble, scrabble”), German grabbeln (“to rummage, grope about”) and grapsen, grapschen (“to seize, grasp, grabble”). Influenced in some senses by grapple (“tool with claws or hooks”, noun) (see below). See further at grasp.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42098 grapples with the 1 in 63 to Troutbeck at the head of the "Lakes Express"."
— 1961 October, ""Voyageur"", “The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway”, in Trains Illustrated, page 599, photo caption:
"Fear of death is a universal human concern with which all thinking people at some point grapple."
— 2018, Timothy R. Jennings, The Aging Brain, →ISBN, page 173:
"The frictionless appearance of a box on the doorstep is such a seductive notion. We have come to rely on it in such a brief period that we have not been able to grapple fully with the scale or the meaning of home delivery."
— 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian:
"The gallies were grapled to the Centurion."
— 1589, Richard Hakluyt, The Principall Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, […], London: […] George Bishop and Ralph Newberie, deputies to Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC:
"Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel."
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He reached out to ____ the rope tightly with both hands.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two wrestlers began to ____ with each other, trying to gain the upper hand in the intense match.