grasp: Meaning and Definition of

grasp

Pronunciation: (grasp, gräsp), [key]
— v.t.
  1. to seize and hold by or as if by clasping with the fingers or arms.
  2. to seize upon; hold firmly.
  3. to get hold of mentally; comprehend; understand: I don't grasp your meaning.
—v.i.
  1. 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.
  1. the act of grasping or gripping, as with the hands or arms: to make a grasp at something.
  2. a hold or grip: to have a firm grasp of a rope.
  3. one's arms or hands, in embracing or gripping: He took her in his grasp.
  4. one's power of seizing and holding; reach: to have a thing within one's grasp.
  5. hold, possession, or mastery: to wrest power from the grasp of a usurper.
  6. mental hold or capacity; power to understand.
  7. broad or thorough comprehension: a good grasp of computer programming.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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