grapple
/ˈɡræpl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɡræpl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgra-pəl/ (ame, mw)
grapple — verb
- grapplepresent simple I / you / we / they
- grappleshe / she / it
- grappledpast simple
- grappling-ing form
1. to take hold of another person's body and struggle against them at close range,
to take hold of another person's body and struggle against them at close range, usually trying to throw, pin, or overpower them.
Hamza grappled with the intruder until two neighbours arrived to help.
grapple with + [opponent] for close-combat struggle
The two wrestlers grappled on the mat for nearly five minutes.
intransitive: subjects grapple together on a surface
Iris grappled the thief to the ground and held him until the police arrived.
A security guard grappled with the drunk man at the stadium gate.
Christopher grappled bravely with the larger boy after class.
文法句型
grapple with someone
grapple someone to the ground
用法筆記
Subject is normally a person; object is another person or animal at body-contact range. Distinguish from sense 2: a physical opponent here, an abstract problem there.
常見錯誤
2. to put serious mental effort into handling a difficult problem, question, or sit
to put serious mental effort into handling a difficult problem, question, or situation — for example, a city trying to reduce homelessness, or a student making sense of a tough theory.
Many small towns are grappling with the loss of young workers to the cities.
grapple with + [social problem]
Faisal sat by the river, grappling with whether to accept the job in Berlin.
grapple with + indirect question (whether-clause)
The school board is still grappling with how to keep classrooms safe during heatwaves.
Eitan grappled with the idea that his father had lied to him for years.
Doctors are still grappling with the long-term effects of the new virus.
- ignore
opposite stance: refuse to engage with the problem at all
文法句型
grapple with + noun (problem/idea/question)
用法筆記
Almost always intransitive with 'with'. Object is an abstract noun (problem, issue, question, idea) or an indirect question. Distinguish from sense 1 by what follows 'with': a person → fight; a problem → think hard about.
常見錯誤
grapple — noun
1. a short fight in which two people hold each other and struggle at close range.
a short fight in which two people hold each other and struggle at close range.
After a brief grapple by the door, the security staff led the man outside.
a brief grapple — short close-range fight
Jisoo won the match with a clever grapple in the final round.
There was a noisy grapple on the pavement before the police arrived.
Quan came home with a cut lip after a grapple with two older boys.
文法句型
a grapple with somebody
用法筆記
Countable and usually preceded by 'a' or 'the'. Commonly modified by adjectives like 'brief', 'short', or 'noisy'. The act-of-fighting noun, paired with verb sense 1.
2. a hard, sustained contest between two sides trying to gain control or win someth
a hard, sustained contest between two sides trying to gain control or win something important.
The election turned into a public grapple between the two main parties.
a grapple between + [rivals]
Heloísa described the trial as a long grapple for the truth.
a grapple for + [goal]
Their family business became a quiet grapple for control between the two brothers.
The board meeting became a tense grapple over the company's future direction.
文法句型
a grapple for + noun
用法筆記
Formal and uncommon; you will mostly meet 'struggle' or 'battle' in this slot. Often followed by 'for', 'over', or 'between'.
3. a metal device with several curved hooks at one end, usually tied to a rope and
a metal device with several curved hooks at one end, usually tied to a rope and thrown so the hooks catch on something a climber or boarder wants to reach.
Adaeze swung the grapple over her head and threw it up to the balcony.
throw a grapple up to + [target]
The pirates used a grapple to pull their ship close to the merchant boat.
use a grapple to + [verb]
A heavy iron grapple lay on the deck beside a coil of rope.
Daniel taught the cadets how to fix a grapple to the wall before climbing.
- grappling hook
the full, more transparent name; safer choice in everyday writing
- grappling iron
older nautical term for the same tool
文法句型
throw / use a grapple
用法筆記
The full name is 'grappling hook' or 'grappling iron'; 'grapple' alone is the shorter form. Object is the hook itself, not the act of using it.
4. a large bucket on a digger or crane that has two or more hinged jaws which close
a large bucket on a digger or crane that has two or more hinged jaws which close together to pick up earth, scrap metal, or logs.
The driver lowered the grapple and lifted a thick log onto the truck.
lower / lift a grapple to move heavy material
Mia watched the crane's grapple drop a load of scrap metal into the yard.
The old digger has a grapple instead of a normal bucket for moving rocks.
Jenna replaced the grapple on the excavator before clearing the river bank.
- clamshell bucket
more technical industry term for the same hinged-jaw device
- grab
British construction term for a similar attachment
文法句型
a grapple on + [machine]
用法筆記
A piece of heavy-machinery vocabulary; you will mostly see it in construction, forestry, or recycling contexts. Distinguish from sense 3 by the setting — sense 4 is attached to a machine, sense 3 is thrown by a person.