I. ˈgrapəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French grappelle, diminutive of grappe, grape hook — more at grape
1.
a. : an instrument with iron claws designed to be thrown by a rope and formerly used especially to fasten an enemy ship alongside before boarding
b. : grapnel 2
2.
[ grapple (II) ]
a. : the act of grappling or the state of being grappled
such scathful grapple did he make with the most noble bottom of our fleet — Shakespeare
b. : a hand-to-hand struggle
rose … fresh from his fall and fiercer grapple joined — John Milton
c. : a contest for superiority or victory
a final grapple with ecclesiastical tyranny — Edward Miall
3. : a bucket similar to a clamshell but having three or more jaws
II. verb
( grappled ; grappled ; grappling -p(ə)liŋ ; grapples )
transitive verb
1. : to seize, hold, or drag with or as if with a grapple
wished to grapple this vessel and take it — Charlotte M. Yonge
grappled the river bottom for broken chains — James Dugan
2. : to come to grips with : grasp with the hands : take hold of
Junior, aged four, grappling the family mutt with a wrestler's stranglehold — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
grappled me to him with both arms … and hugged me — R.P.Warren
3. : to fasten, join, or bind with a close bond
those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel — Shakespeare
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to fasten oneself firmly with or as if with a grapple
the piece of ice we grappled to — Francis Smith
b. : to make fast one's ship by means of a grapple — used with with
grapple with the enemy's ships and board them — Edward Edwards
2. : to come to grips : engage in hand-to-hand encounter : contend in close combat
grappled and commenced wrestling — John Doran
grappling wildly with a big tough — Robert Westerby
3. : to move the hands in or as if in grasping : grope
grappled about the floor among the dead bodies — Thomas Lodge
4. : to attempt to deal : cope — used with with
didn't grapple with any national problem until it was forced upon his attention — F.L.Allen
many poets, playwrights and novelists have grappled with the subject — Howard Taubman
5. : to use a grapple (as in searching)
grappled in deep water for the missing safe
Synonyms: see wrestle