grip

UK: /ˈgrɪp/ US: /grɪp/ ,(grip)

Inflections of 'grip' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

grips

v 3rd person singular

gripping

v pres p

gripped

v past

gripped

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

grip /grɪp/   n., v., gripped, grip•ping. 
n. [countable]

1. the act of grasping;
   a seizing and holding fast;
   firm grasp:
   held the hammer securely in his grip.
2. the power of grasping or holding fast:
   She has a strong grip when she shakes hands.
3. mental or intellectual grasp or hold or emotional control:
   had a good grip on the problem.
4. competence or firmness in dealing with things:
   He's beginning to lose his grip on reality.
5. a special mode of clasping hands:
   a secret grip.
6. a handle or hilt:
   a jeweled grip on a sword.
7. a suitcase.
8. a stagehand.

v. [~ + object]

9. to grasp or seize firmly;
   hold fast:
   I gripped the pole on the subway car to keep from falling.
10. to hold the interest of:
    to grip the mind.

Idioms

11. Idioms come to grips with, [~ + object] to face and cope with:
    to come to grips with a problem.

grip•per, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

grip  (grip), n., v., gripped or gript, grip•ping. 
n. 

1. the act of grasping;
   a seizing and holding fast;
   firm grasp.
2. the power of gripping:
   He has a strong grip.
3. a grasp, hold, or control.
4. mental or intellectual hold:
   to have a good grip on a problem.
5. competence or firmness in dealing with situations in one's work or personal affairs:
   The boss is old and is losing his grip.
6. a special mode of clasping hands:
   Members of the club use the secret grip.
7. something that seizes and holds, as a clutching device on a cable car.
8. a handle or hilt:
   That knife has a very unusual grip.
9. a sudden, sharp pain;
   spasm of pain.
10. grippe.
11. Slang Terms [Older Use.] a small traveling bag.
12. Show Business
    • Show Business [Theat.] a stagehand, esp. one who works on the stage floor.
    • Show Business [Motion Pictures, Television.] a general assistant available on a film set for shifting scenery, moving furniture, etc.
13. Idioms come to grips with:
    • to encounter;
      meet;
      cope with:
      She had never come to grips with such a situation before.
    • to deal with directly or firmly:
      We didn't come to grips with the real problem.

v.t. 

14. to grasp or seize firmly;
    hold fast:
    We gripped the sides of the boat as the waves tossed us about.
15. to take hold on;
    hold the interest of:
    to grip the mind.
16. to attach by a grip or clutch.

v.i. 

17. to take firm hold;
    hold fast.
18. to take hold on the mind.

• bef. 900; Middle English, Old English gripe grasp (noun, nominal); cognate with German Griff, Old English gripa handful; see gripe

grip′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 15. impress, attract, rivet, hold, fascinate.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

grip / ɡrɪp/ noun

1. the act or an instance of grasping and holding firmly: he lost his grip on the slope
2. Also called: handgrip the strength or pressure of such a grasp, as in a handshake
3. the style or manner of grasping an object, such as a tennis racket
4. understanding, control, or mastery of a subject, problem, etc (esp in such phrases as getorhave a grip on)
5. Also called: handgrip a part by which an object is grasped; handle
6. Also called: handgrip a travelling bag or holdall
7. See hairgrip
8. any device that holds by friction, such as certain types of brake
9. a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc
10. get to grips, come to grips ⇒ (often followed by with) to deal with (a problem or subject)
11. to tackle (an assailant)

verb (grips, gripping, gripped)

1. to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch
2. to hold the interest or attention of: to grip an audience

Etymology: Old English gripe grasp; related to Old Norse gripr property, Old High German grif

ˈgripper noun

grip / ɡrɪp/ noun

1. a variant spelling of grippe

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

grippe /grɪp/   n. 

1. Pathology [Older Use.] influenza.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

grippe  (grip), n. [Pathol.] (formerly)

1. Pathology influenza.

• Gmc; akin to grip, gripe
• French, noun, nominal derivative of gripper to seize suddenly
• 1770–80

gripp′al, adj. 
grippe′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

grippe, grip / ɡrɪp/ noun

1. a former name for influenza

Etymology: 18th Century: from French grippe, from gripper to seize, of Germanic origin; see grip¹