grip

[grip] /grɪp/
noun
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.
Older Use. a small traveling bag.
12.
  1. Theater. a stagehand, especially one who works on the stage floor.
  2. Movies, Television. a general assistant available on a film set for shifting scenery, moving furniture, etc.
verb (used with object), gripped or gript, gripping.
13.
to grasp or seize firmly; hold fast:
We gripped the sides of the boat as the waves tossed us about.
14.
to take hold on; hold the interest of:
to grip the mind.
15.
to attach by a grip or clutch.
verb (used without object), gripped or gript, gripping.
16.
to take firm hold; hold fast.
17.
to take hold on the mind.
Idioms
18.
come to grips with,
  1. to encounter; meet; cope with:
    She had never come to grips with such a situation before.
  2. to deal with directly or firmly:
    We didn't come to grips with the real problem.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English gripe grasp (noun); cognate with German Griff, Old English gripa handful; see gripe
Related forms
gripless, adjective
regrip, verb, regripped or regript, regripping.
ungrip, verb, ungripped, ungripping.
Can be confused
grip, gripe, grippe.
Synonyms
14. impress, attract, rivet, hold, fascinate.
British Dictionary definitions for come to grips with

grip1

/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: a feeble grip
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 get or have 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 method of clasping or shaking hands used by members of secret societies to greet or identify one another
10.
a spasm of pain: a grip in one's stomach
11.
a worker in a camera crew or a stagehand who shifts sets and props, etc
12.
a small drainage channel cut above an excavation to conduct surface water away from the excavation
13.
(often foll by with) get to grips, come to grips
  1. to deal with (a problem or subject)
  2. to tackle (an assailant)
verb grips, gripping, gripped
14.
to take hold of firmly or tightly, as by a clutch
15.
to hold the interest or attention of: to grip an audience
Derived Forms
gripper, noun
grippingly, adverb
Word Origin
Old English gripe grasp; related to Old Norse gripr property, Old High German grif

grip2

/ɡrɪp/
noun
1.
(med) a variant spelling of grippe
Word Origin and History for come to grips with

grip

v.

Old English grippan "to grip, seize, obtain" (class I strong verb; past tense grap, past participle gripen), from West Germanic *gripjan (cf. Old High German gripfen "to rob," Old English gripan "to seize;" see gripe). Related: Gripped; gripping. French gripper "to seize," griffe "claw" are Germanic loan-words.

n.

fusion of Old English gripe "grasp, clutch" and gripa "handful, sheaf" (see grip (v.)). Meaning "stage hand" is from 1888, from their work shifting scenery.

Slang definitions & phrases for come to grips with

grip

noun
  1. A stagehand or stage carpenter: crowded with assistant directors, character actors, movie stars, grips and electricians (1888+ Theater & movie studio)
  2. A traveling bag; valise: Gonna pack my grip and make my getaway (1879+)

[second sense a shortening of gripsack]


Idioms and Phrases with come to grips with

come to grips with

Confront squarely, deal decisively with, as in Her stories help the children come to grips with upsetting events. This term, sometimes put as get to grips with, employs grip in the sense of a “tight hold.” [ Mid-1900s ]

grip

see: