grip

Verb

grip (third-person singular simple present grips, present participle gripping, simple past and past participle gripped)

1. (transitive) To take hold of, particularly with the hand.

   That suitcase is heavy, so grip the handle firmly.

   The glue will begin to grip within five minutes.

   After a few slips, the tires gripped the pavement.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     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.

2. (transitive) Of an emotion or situation: to have a strong effect upon.
   • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:

     […] I lost something of the stifling fear that had gripped me, and could listen with more ease to what was going forward.

3. (transitive) To firmly hold the attention of.

   The movie gripped me from beginning to end.

Noun

grip (countable and uncountable, plural grips)

1. A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand.

   It's good to have a firm grip when shaking hands.

   The ball will move differently depending on the grip used when throwing it.

2. A handle or other place to grip.

   the grip of a sword

   There are several good grips on the northern face of this rock.

3. (figurative) Assistance; help or encouragement. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

   He gave me a grip.

4. (figurative) A helpful, interesting, admirable, or inspiring person.

   You're a real grip.

5. (figurative) Control, power or mastery over someone or something; a tenacious grasp; a holding fast.

   in the grip of a blackmailer

   to strengthen one's grip on a company

   • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     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.

   • 2016 June 22, Max Bearak, “The world’s longest-serving president just appointed his son as VP”, in The Washington Post‎:

     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.

   • 2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian‎:

     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.

6. (slang) As much as one can hold in a hand; a handful.

   I need to get a grip of nails for my project.

7. (graphical user interface) A visual component on a window etc. enabling it to be resized and/or moved.
8. (film production) A person responsible for handling equipment on the set.

   Hyponym: key grip

   Coordinate terms: gaffer, gofer

9. A channel cut through a grass verge (especially for the purpose of draining water away from the highway).
10. (chiefly Southern California slang) A lot of something.

    That is a grip of cheese.

11. (chiefly Southern California slang) A long time.

    I haven't seen you in a grip.

12. Archaic spelling of grippe (“influenza”).

    She has the grip.

    • 1911, Theodore Dreiser, chapter XXXII, in Jennie Gerhardt‎:

      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.

    • 1908, A.D. Condo, The Outbursts of Everett True‎:

      Grip! Grip!! The little touch of grip you had is no excuse for following the example of some of our "best citizens" who make every little ailment a pretext for dallying with the "demon"!!!!!

13. (archaic except rail transport) A small travelling-bag or gripsack.
    • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 35:

      'I put my grips against the communicating door last night'.

14. An apparatus attached to a car for clutching a traction cable.
15. A device for grasping or holding fast to something.

    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Alternative forms

• gripe

Noun

grip (plural grips)

1. (dialectal) A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain.

Verb

grip (third-person singular simple present grips, present participle gripping, simple past and past participle gripped)

1. (dialectal) To trench; to drain.

Related terms

• greep
• griep
• grijpen
• begrip