- 1a firm hold of somebody/something or control over somebody/something synonym grip I grabbed him, but he slipped from my grasp. She felt a firm grasp on her arm. Don't let the situation escape from your grasp. As soon as he relaxed his grasp on the rope, it was pulled out of his hands. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefirm, tight verb + graspslip from, escape, slip out of, … prepositionbeyond your grasp, in your grasp, from somebody’s grasp, … See full entry
- 2a person’s understanding of a subject or of difficult facts He has a good grasp of German grammar. These complex formulae are beyond the grasp of the average pupil. As the drugs took hold, her grasp of reality began to slip slowly away. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefirm, good, impressive, … verb + grasphave, get prepositionbeyond somebody’s grasp, within somebody’s grasp, grasp of, … See full entry
- 3the ability to get or achieve something Success was within her grasp. Word Originlate Middle English: perhaps related to grope.Extra examples He kept the letter firmly in his grasp. He slipped out of our grasp. Just when victory seemed within grasp, the referee blew his whistle. She felt a firm grasp on her hand. She kicked the gun out of his grasp. She wrenched the bottle from his grasp. The key was on a high shelf, just beyond her grasp. The robber tried to free the case from her grasp. The task was beyond the intellectual grasp of some of the students. These ideas are all beyond his grasp. We have no intuitive grasp of the immensity of time. Working with native speakers helped me get a good grasp of the language. a poor grasp of mathematics Don’t let the situation escape from your grasp. He had a limited grasp of the wider political issues. Make sure you have a good grasp of the facts before attempting to argue your case. She has an excellent grasp of English grammar. Such complicated instructions are beyond the grasp of most of our students. The company continues to maintain its grasp on the business computer market.
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