to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms.
to seize upon; hold firmly.
to get hold of mentally; comprehend; understand: I don't grasp your meaning.
—v.i.
to make an attempt to seize, or a motion of seizing, something (usually fol. by at or for): a drowning man grasping at straws; to grasp for an enemy's rifle.
—n.
the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms: to make a grasp at something.
a hold or grip: to have a firm grasp of a rope.
one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping: He took her in his grasp.
one's power of seizing and holding; reach: to have a thing within one's grasp.
hold, possession, or mastery: to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.
mental hold or capacity; power to understand.
broad or thorough comprehension: a good grasp of computer programming.