grapple
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To ponder and intensely evaluate a problem.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
grapuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɹæpəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
figurativelywith with
To ponder and intensely evaluate a problem; to struggle to deal with.
transitive
To seize something and hold it firmly.
intransitive
To wrestle or tussle.
transitiveintransitive
To climb (whether by means of a grapple and rope, or by hand, etc).
intransitive
To use a grapple (for example to attempt to find, hook, and raise a net or cable).
transitive
To fasten, as with a grapple; (by extension) to fix; to join indissolubly.
noun
The act of grappling. (uncountable)
The act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
A close hand-to-hand struggle.
A tool with claws or hooks which is used to catch or hold something.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (figuratively, with with) To ponder and intensely evaluate a problem; to struggle to deal with.
Used this way, grapple is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use grapple
- “The two men grappled with each other for several minutes.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding.
A tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.