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grap·ple (grăpəl)
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n.
1.
a. An iron shaft with claws at one end, usually thrown by a rope and used for grasping and holding, especially one for drawing and holding an enemy ship alongside. Also called grapnel, grappling, grappling hook, grappling iron.
b. See grapnel.
2. Any of various grasping devices having hinged tines or jaws that close around an object or load, used especially in lifting or dragging heavy items.
3. The act of grappling.
4.
a. A struggle or contest in which the participants attempt to wrestle with each other by clutching or gripping.
b. A struggle for superiority or dominance.
v. grap·pled, grap·pling, grap·ples
v.tr.
1. To seize and hold with a grapple: grappled the prow of the ship.
2. To seize firmly with the hands: "Jules ... grappled the backpack chained over the back of Izzy's bike and began scrabbling through it" (Bella Bathurst).
v.intr.
1. To hold onto something with a grapple: "The 150-odd ships closed and grappled, initiating the most important naval battle of the Hundred Years' War" (Clifford J. Rogers).
2. To use a grapple or similar device, as for dragging.
3.
a. To wrestle with an opponent by clutching or gripping.
b. To struggle or work hard to deal with something: grappled with their consciences; grapple with the political realities of our time.

[Middle English grapel, from Old French grapil, diminutive of grape, hook; see GRAPE.]

grappler n.
(click for a larger image)
grapple

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.