grasp

verb

/ɡrɑːsp/

/ɡræsp/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they grasp	/ɡrɑːsp/ /ɡræsp/
he / she / it grasps	/ɡrɑːsps/ /ɡræsps/
past simple grasped	/ɡrɑːspt/ /ɡræspt/
past participle grasped	/ɡrɑːspt/ /ɡræspt/
-ing form grasping	/ˈɡrɑːspɪŋ/ /ˈɡræspɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

grasp somebody/something to take a strong hold of somebody/something抓紧；抓牢 synonym grip
- He grasped my hand and shook it warmly.他热情地抓住我的手握了起来。
- Kay grasped him by the wrist.凯紧紧抓住他的手腕。
Synonyms hold
holdhold on ▪ cling ▪ clutch ▪ grip ▪ grasp ▪ clasp ▪ hang onThese words all mean to have somebody/something in your hands or arms.
hold to have somebody/something in your hand or arms:
She was holding a large box.她提着一只大箱子。
I held the baby gently in my arms.我把婴儿轻轻地抱在怀里。
hold on (to somebody/something) to continue to hold somebody/something; to put your hand on somebody/something and not take your hand away:
Hold on and don’t let go until I say so.握紧，我让你松手时才松开。
cling to hold on to somebody/something tightly, especially with your whole body:
Survivors clung to pieces of floating debris.生还者紧紧抱住漂浮在水面上的残骸。
clutch to hold somebody/something tightly, especially in your hand; to take hold of something suddenly:
She stood there, the flowers still clutched in her hand.她站在那里，手里仍然紧握着花束。
He felt himself slipping and clutched at a branch.他感到自己滑了一下，便一把抓住一根树枝。
grip to hold on to something very tightly with your hand:
Grip the rope as tightly as you can.尽可能紧紧抓住绳子。
grasp to take a strong hold of somebody/something:
He grasped my hand and shook it warmly.他热情地抓住我的手握了起来。
The object of grasp is often somebody’s hand or wrist.clasp (formal) to hold somebody/something tightly in your hand or in your arms:
They clasped hands (= held each other’s hands).他们相互紧握着对方的手。
She clasped the children in her arms.她把孩子紧紧地搂在怀里。
The object of clasp is often your hands, somebody else’s hand or another person.hang on (to something) to hold on to something very tightly, especially in order to support yourself or stop yourself from falling:
Hang on tight. We’re off!抓紧，我们出发了！
Patterns
- to hold/clutch/grip/clasp something in your hand/hands
- to hold/clutch/clasp somebody/something in your arms
- to hold/clutch/grip/grasp/clasp/hang on to something
- to hold/cling/hang on
- to hold/clutch/clasp somebody/something to you
- to hold/hold on to/cling to/clutch/grip/grasp/clasp/hang on to somebody/something tightly
- to hold/hold on to/cling to/clutch/grip/grasp/clasp somebody/something firmly
- to hold/hold on to/clutch/grip/clasp/hang on to somebody/something tight
Extra Examples
- Her hands were grasping at his coat.她双手抓着他的大衣。
- She grasped him tightly by the wrist.她紧紧地抓住他的手腕。
- She grasped hold of the banister to support herself.她抓住楼梯扶手以支撑自己的身体。
- He grasped the pan by its handle.他握紧锅柄。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- firmly
- tightly
preposition
- at
- by
phrases
- grasp hold of somebody/something
to understand something completely理解；领会；领悟；明白
- grasp something They failed to grasp the importance of his words.他们没有理解他的话的重要性。
- grasp how, why, etc… She was unable to grasp how to do it.她弄不明白这事该怎么做。
- grasp that… It took him some time to grasp that he was now a public figure.他过了些时候才意识到自己已是个公众人物了。
Synonyms understand
understandsee ▪ get ▪ follow ▪ grasp ▪ comprehendThese words all mean to know or realize something, for example why something happens, how something works or what something means.
understand to know or realize the meaning of words, a language, what somebody says, etc.; to know or realize how or why something happens, how it works or why it is important:
I don’t understand the instructions.我不懂这些指令的意思。
Doctors still don’t understand much about the disease.医生对这种疾病还了解不多。
see to understand what is happening, what somebody is saying, how something works or how important something is:
‘It opens like this.’ ‘Oh, I see.’“这样就打开了。”“哦，我明白了。”
Oh yes, I see what you mean.噢，我明白你的意思了。
get (informal) to understand a joke, what somebody is trying to tell you, or a situation that they are trying to describe:
She didn’t get the joke.她听不懂那个笑话。
I don’t get you.我搞不懂你的意思。
follow to understand an explanation, a story or the meaning of something:
Sorry—I don’t quite follow.抱歉，我没太听懂（你的话）。
The plot is almost impossible to follow.故事情节几乎叫人看不懂。
grasp to come to understand a fact, an idea or how to do something:
They failed to grasp the importance of his words.他们没有理解他的话的重要性。
understand or grasp?You can use understand or grasp for the action of realizing the meaning or importance of something for the first time: It’s a difficult concept for children to understand/grasp. Only understand can be used to talk about languages, words or writing: I don’t grasp French/the instructions.
comprehend (often used in negative statements) (formal) to understand a fact, idea or reason:
The concept of infinity is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend.无穷的概念几乎是人类的大脑无法理解的。
Patterns
- to understand/see/get/follow/grasp/comprehend what/why/how…
- to understand/see/grasp/comprehend that…
- to understand/see/get/grasp the point/idea (of something)
- to be easy/difficult/hard to understand/see/follow/grasp/comprehend
- to fully understand/see/grasp/comprehend something
Extra Examples
- It's a difficult concept for children to understand/grasp.对孩子来说，这是一个很难理解的概念。
- By this time, engineers understood/had grasped the basic principles of aerodynamics.那时候，工程师已经掌握了空气动力学的基本原理。
- a means by which students can more easily grasp the basics of science更有利于学生掌握科学基本原理的方法
- Some of these concepts are very difficult to grasp.这些概念中有的难以理解。
- She failed to grasp the significance of these facts.她无法理解这些事实的重要性。
- I hadn't really grasped what they were talking about.我没有真正明白他们在谈论什么。
- He was quick to grasp the basic principles.他很快掌握了基本原则。
- He had not fully grasped the fact that he was the one who would pay for all this.他还没有完全明白他要独自承担这一切代价。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- fully
- not quite
- not really
- …
verb + grasp
- try to
- be unable to
- fail to
- …
grasp a chance/an opportunity to take an opportunity without hesitating and use it急忙抓住，毫不犹豫地抓住（机会）
- I grasped the opportunity to work abroad.我毫不犹豫地抓住了去国外工作的机会。

Word Originlate Middle English: perhaps related to grope.

Idioms

clutch/grasp at straws

to try all possible means to find a solution or some hope in a difficult or unpleasant situation, even though this seems very unlikely（在危难中）抓救命稻草，不放过任何微小的机会
- I know I’m just clutching at straws here, but is it possible that the doctors are wrong?我知道我只是抓住救命稻草，但医生有可能错了吗？

grasp the nettle

(British English) to deal with a difficult situation without hesitating果断地处理棘手问题
- The government now has the opportunity to grasp the nettle of prison reform.政府现在有机会解决监狱改革的难题。

grasp

noun

/ɡrɑːsp/

/ɡræsp/

[usually singular]

a strong hold of somebody/something or control over somebody/something紧抓；紧握；控制 synonym grip
- I grabbed him, but he slipped from my grasp.我紧抓着他，可他还是从我手里溜掉了。
- She felt a firm grasp on her arm.她感到手臂被紧紧地抓住了。
- Don't let the situation escape from your grasp.别让局面失去控制。
- As soon as he relaxed his grasp on the rope, it was pulled out of his hands.当他松开绳子时，绳子就从他手中被抽走了。
Extra Examples
- He kept the letter firmly in his grasp.他紧紧地抓着那封信。
- He slipped out of our grasp.他摆脱我们的控制逃走了。
- She kicked the gun out of his grasp.她踢掉他手中的枪。
- She wrenched the bottle from his grasp.她掰开他的手把瓶子抢走了。
- The key was on a high shelf, just beyond her grasp.钥匙在高高的架子上，她够不着。
- The robber tried to free the case from her grasp.强盗试图从她的手中夺走箱子。
- The company continues to maintain its grasp on the business computer market.那家公司继续维持着对商用电脑市场的控制。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- firm
- tight
verb + grasp
- slip from
- escape
- slip out of
- …
preposition
- beyond your grasp
- in your grasp
- from somebody’s grasp
- …
a person’s understanding of a subject or of difficult facts理解（力）；领会
- He has a good grasp of German grammar.他德语语法掌握得很好。
- beyond somebody's grasp These complex formulae are beyond the grasp of the average pupil.这些复杂的公式是一般小学生不能理解的。
- As the drugs took hold, her grasp of reality began to slip slowly away.随着药物的作用，她对现实的把握开始慢慢消失。
Extra Examples
- Such complicated instructions are beyond the grasp of most of our students.这些复杂的指令是我们的大多数学生所不能理解的。
- She has an excellent grasp of English grammar.她对英语语法掌握得非常好。
- Make sure you have a good grasp of the facts before attempting to argue your case.在尝试论证你的观点之前，请确保你充分掌握了事实。
- He had a limited grasp of the wider political issues.他对更广泛的政治问题的了解有限。
- a poor grasp of mathematics数学方面的领悟力不高
- Working with native speakers helped me get a good grasp of the language.同操本族语的人一起工作帮助我很好地掌握了这门语言。
- We have no intuitive grasp of the immensity of time.我们对时间的无限性没有什么感性认识。
- These ideas are all beyond his grasp.他完全无法理解这些观点。
- The task was beyond the intellectual grasp of some of the students.这项作业超出了一些学生的理解能力。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- firm
- good
- impressive
- …
verb + grasp
- have
- get
preposition
- beyond somebody’s grasp
- within somebody’s grasp
- grasp of
- …
the ability to get or achieve something能力所及
- within somebody's grasp Success was within her grasp.她有把握获得成功。
- Just when victory seemed within grasp, the referee blew his whistle.就在胜利似乎触手可及之时，裁判的哨声响了。
Topics Successc2

Word Originlate Middle English: perhaps related to grope.