grappling

[grap-ling] /ˈgræp lɪŋ/
noun
1.
grapnel.
Origin
1590-1600; grapple + -ing1
Related forms
ungrappling, adjective

grapple

[grap-uh l] /ˈgræp əl/
verb (used without object), grappled, grappling.
1.
to hold or make fast to something, as with a grapple.
2.
to use a grapple.
3.
to seize another, or each other, in a firm grip, as in wrestling; clinch.
4.
to engage in a struggle or close encounter (usually followed by with):
He was grappling with a boy twice his size.
5.
to try to overcome or deal (usually followed by with):
to grapple with a problem.
verb (used with object), grappled, grappling.
6.
to seize, hold, or fasten with or as with a grapple.
7.
to seize in a grip, take hold of:
The thug grappled him around the neck.
noun
8.
a hook or an iron instrument by which one thing, as a ship, fastens onto another; grapnel.
9.
a seizing or gripping.
10.
a grip or close hold in wrestling or hand-to-hand fighting.
11.
a close, hand-to-hand fight.
Origin
1520-30; apparently a frequentative of Old English gegrǣppian to seize; associated with grapnel
Related forms
grappler, noun
intergrapple, verb, intergrappled, intergrappling.
ungrappled, adjective
Synonyms
5. struggle, contend, wrestle, cope, tussle.
Examples from the web for grappling
  • grappling with a different culture is often part of the challenge, and appeal, of teaching abroad.
  • Public universities, many of them grappling with overall financial cuts, had some of the fastest-growing athletic budgets.
  • We spend a fair amount of time there grappling with exactly these issues.
  • Perhaps the words aren't so different from those uttered by students around the world grappling with a new language.
  • Expecting students who might be grappling with unfamiliar material to have quick and ready answers is often unrealistic.
  • Colleges, too, are grappling with the limits of this global online movement.
  • Perhaps your college is grappling with this question now, or will be soon.
  • grappling hooks attached to siphon electricity from low-hanging power lines.
  • Still, these are dilemmas capital regulators are already grappling with.
  • Now that same independent central bank is grappling with an ugly conjuncture of rising inflation and falling growth.
British Dictionary definitions for grappling

grappling

/ˈɡræplɪŋ/
noun
1.
the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling
2.
a hook used for securing something

grapple

/ˈɡræpəl/
verb
1.
to come to grips with (one or more persons), esp to struggle in hand-to-hand combat
2.
(intransitive) foll by with. to cope or contend: to grapple with a financial problem
3.
(transitive) to secure with a grapple
noun
4.
any form of hook or metal instrument by which something is secured, such as a grapnel
5.
  1. the act of gripping or seizing, as in wrestling
  2. a grip or hold
6.
a contest of grappling, esp a wrestling match
Derived Forms
grappler, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Old French grappelle a little hook, from grape hook; see grapnel
Word Origin and History for grappling

grapple

n.

late 13c., from Old French grapil "hook" (see grapnel). The verb is 1520s, "seize and hold fast," from the noun. Sense of "battle, struggle (with)" is from 1590s. Related: Grappled; grappling.