The AI-powered English dictionary
third-person singular simple present grips, present participle gripping, simple past and past participle gripped
(transitive) To take hold of, particularly with the hand. quotations examples
When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess
(transitive) Of an emotion or situation: to have a strong effect upon. quotations examples
[…] I lost something of the stifling fear that had gripped me, and could listen with more ease to what was going forward.
1898, J. Meade Falkner, chapter 4, in Moonfleet, London, Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934
(transitive) To firmly hold the attention of. examples
countable and uncountable, plural grips
A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand. examples
A handle or other place to grip. examples
(figurative) Assistance; help or encouragement. examples
(figurative) A helpful, interesting, admirable, or inspiring person. examples
(figurative) Control, power or mastery over someone or something; a tenacious grasp; a holding fast. quotations examples
Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
The current president toppled his uncle in a violent coup in 1979, before sentencing him to death by firing squad. Since then, he has consolidated his grip over the country's industries and is accused of diverting tax money into his personal accounts.
2016 June 22, Max Bearak, “The world’s longest-serving president just appointed his son as VP”, in The Washington Post
Instead England produced something that felt a little transgressive in this most controlled of stages, tightening their grip in a bruising first half, before freewheeling downhill in the second with their feet up on the handlebars.
2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian
(slang) As much as one can hold in a hand; a handful.
(computing, graphical user interface) A visual component on a window etc. enabling it to be resized and/or moved. examples
(film production) A person responsible for handling equipment on the set. examples
A channel cut through a grass verge (especially for the purpose of draining water away from the highway). examples
(chiefly Southern California slang) A lot of something.
(chiefly Southern California slang) A long time.
Archaic spelling of grippe (“influenza”). quotations examples
It so happened that, during a stretch of inclement weather in the fall, Lester was seized with a mild form of grip. When he felt the first symptoms he thought that his indisposition would be a matter of short duration, and tried to overcome it by taking a hot bath and a liberal dose of quinine. But the infection was stronger than he counted on; by morning he was flat on his back, with a severe fever and a splitting headache.
1911, Theodore Dreiser, chapter XXXII, in Jennie Gerhardt
(archaic except rail transport) A small travelling-bag or gripsack. quotations
'I put my grips against the communicating door last night'.
1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 35
An apparatus attached to a car for clutching a traction cable. examples
A device for grasping or holding fast to something. examples
plural grips
(dialectal) A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain. examples
(dialectal) To trench; to drain. examples