grasp
/grɑ:sp/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- The act of seizing and holding firmly; a grip: A physical act of taking and holding something with the hand or hands.
- Intellectual comprehension or mastery: The capacity to understand something fully or to have a firm mental hold on a subject.
- The reach of one's power or control: The limit of one's capability to obtain or achieve something.
Verb:
- To seize and hold firmly: To take something in one's hand and grip it tightly.
- To comprehend something intellectually: To understand the nature, meaning, or importance of something.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- His grasp on the rope was slipping. (He was losing his physical hold on the rope.)
- She has an excellent grasp of the fundamental principles. (She has a very good understanding of the basic principles.)
- Success was finally within her grasp. (Success was finally something she could achieve.)
Verb:
- The child grasped her mother's hand tightly. (The child held her mother's hand firmly.)
- I couldn't grasp the concept he was explaining. (I was unable to understand the concept he was explaining.)
Advanced Usage
- "To have a good/firm/poor grasp of something": To understand a subject well, solidly, or poorly.
- The new manager has a firm grasp of the company's finances.
- "Beyond one's grasp": Outside the limits of one's understanding or ability to achieve.
- Advanced theoretical physics is beyond my grasp.
- "Within one's grasp": Within the limits of one's understanding or ability to achieve.
- The championship title is now within the team's grasp.
Variants and Related Words
- Grasping (adj): Eager to get money or possessions; greedy.
- He was criticized for his grasping nature.
- Graspable (adj): Capable of being grasped, either physically or intellectually.
- The lecture made the complex topic more graspable.
Synonyms
- Noun (for physical hold): Grip, clasp, hold, clutch.
- Noun (for understanding): Comprehension, understanding, mastery, command.
- Verb (to hold): Grip, clutch, seize, grab.
- Verb (to understand): Comprehend, understand, apprehend, get.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Grasp at: To try to seize something eagerly, often in a desperate or uncoordinated way. Can be used literally or figuratively.
- He grasped at the branch as he fell. (Literal)
- She grasped at any opportunity to advance her career. (Figurative)
Related Idioms
- "Grasp the nettle": To tackle a difficult or unpleasant problem boldly and decisively.
- It's time to grasp the nettle and address these budget issues.
- "Grasp all, lose all": A proverb meaning that being too greedy and trying to get everything will result in losing everything.
- He tried to invest in every new trend, but as they say, grasp all, lose all.
Noun
- the act of grasping
- he released his clasp on my arm
- he has a strong grip for an old man
- she kept a firm hold on the railing
- an intellectual hold or understanding
- a good grip on French history
- they kept a firm grip on the two top priorities
- he was in the grip of a powerful emotion
- a terrible power had her in its grasp
- the limit of capability
- within the compass of education
- understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
- he has a good grasp of accounting practices
Verb
- get the meaning of something
- Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?
- hold firmly