What does grip mean

Crossword clues for grip

grip

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

grip

I.noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

be gripped by fear (=be very afraid)

▪ We were gripped by fear as the boat was tossed around by the waves.

be in the grip of an obsession (=have extreme feelings of interest in something or someone)

▪ At 15 I met Heather and instantly fell into the grip of an obsession.

keep a tight grip/hold/rein on sth (=control it very firmly)

▪ The former dictator still keeps a tight grip on power.

▪ Anna was determined to keep a tight hold on her feelings.

release your grip/hold (on sb/sth)

▪ The sudden noise made him release his hold on her arm.

sb's hand grips sth (=hold something firmly)

▪ Her hands gripped the steering wheel very tightly.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

firm

▪ The other retained its firm grip on the reins.

▪ I took a firm grip on the wheel as I scented some-thing.

▪ However, Dorset took a firm grip declaring at 202-3 in 54.3 overs.

▪ I keep a firm grip on my hat and stare into the blustery abyss.

▪ It is like trying to get a firm grip on a plateful of pudding.

▪ He grasped Dalgliesh's hand with a firm grip but didn't speak.

▪ She struck out blindly and found herself taken in a firm grip.

▪ Right-wing think-tanks have an even firmer grip.

good

▪ Shifting my weight left on the layoff to get a better grip I pulled again.

▪ I got a better grip, Lincoln testing my strength, experimenting with the power of the leash.

▪ A new Skywalk sole with an environmentally-friendly cleat pattern gives a good grip even on slippery rocks.

▪ Derek Jensen, best boy grip -- second unit; and Ronald Beale, chiropractor.

▪ Some had a better grip, while others were heavier and harder for us to swing.

▪ It's a very important part of being a good tennis player to have a good grip, very important.

▪ I told myself to wait a second, get a better grip, try it again.

strong

▪ In fact, he was getting a stronger grip on himself as he went along.

▪ Marsden held out his hand and took hers in a strong grip, at the same time giving the faintest possible bow.

▪ Usually players with a strong left-hand grip have a good forearm rotation because the arm is already part of the way there.

▪ He has held a strong grip over all matters at the club, from choosing the team to financial dealings.

▪ A graceful writer with a strong grip on story, Molly Gloss is also a writer with a political agenda.

tight

▪ The humans had grown their winter coats, and the high buildings trembled in the tight grip of their stress equations.

▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.

▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.

▪ The tight grip of the Gascon nobility on the Church served their dynastic interests well.

▪ He got the ends of the belt around his hands and wound them into a good, tight grip.

▪ In Pomerania this reaction took the form of an even tighter grip on the feudal peasantry and serfs of the great estates.

▪ Outside in her car she kept a tight grip on herself, refusing to let her humiliation reduce her to tears.

▪ Anybody who thought that Bath's tight grip on the Pilkington Cup was over had better think again.

well

▪ Shifting my weight left on the layoff to get a better grip I pulled again.

▪ I got a better grip, Lincoln testing my strength, experimenting with the power of the leash.

▪ Give yourself a better grip by choosing sandals a half size smaller than usual.

▪ Some had a better grip, while others were heavier and harder for us to swing.

▪ I told myself to wait a second, get a better grip, try it again.

■ VERB

break

▪ Anger gave her an added surge of strength, and she twisted her arm sharply downwards and broke his grip.

▪ If we do not break the grip big business exerts on government now, we may never have the chance again.

▪ To struggle was only to weaken himself; he could not displace the weight or break the grip that held him down.

▪ He managed to break its grip before both animals burst through the wooden doors.

▪ We have to become acquainted with the manifestations of fear before we can break its grip.

▪ But of course our work will not end when we have broken the grip of the six major killer diseases.

come

▪ Those who accept the general orientation of modern science may well find considerable difficulty in coming to grips with this main point.

▪ Down came the familiar grip, the fingers closing painfully around his arm.

▪ However, it is possible to come to grips with the key factors to facilitate meaningful negotiation.

▪ We are still trying to come to grips with the problems identified by the Romantics.

▪ At that time, she was still coming to grips with her unexpected plunge into social activism.

ease

▪ He eases his grip on John's hand.

▪ She gave me a gooey smile and then eased her grip.

▪ Deflation, the curse of farmers and wage earners, seemed ready to ease its icy grip.

feel

▪ He could feel Duvall's grip on his throat relaxing, could see Duvall's poised hand lowering.

▪ He felt her grip lessen, and heard her hit the ground.

▪ It was as she turned to swim back that she felt the sudden grip of a pain across her back.

▪ Lifting his arm to strike, he felt a grip of iron round his wrist, restraining him.

▪ She was just about to call out when she felt the iron grip of an arm clasped round her throat.

▪ That presumably meant that she wouldn't feel it when her grip slipped.

get

▪ In fact, he was getting a stronger grip on himself as he went along.

▪ As the nation struggles to get a grip on medical costs, insurance companies have grabbed the reins.

▪ He wakes early next morning, and gets out at once, anxious to get to grips with the city.

▪ I told myself to wait a second, get a better grip, try it again.

▪ The whole program works very well, I still seem to have problems in getting to grips with some areas.

▪ Master Yehudi told her t9 get a grip on herself.

▪ Any attempt to get to grips with silence in music inevitably begins with Cage.

▪ She never got to grips with it and her colleagues had to help with her workload.

hold

▪ His hand slid downwards, holding hers in a grip that was suddenly unbreakable.

▪ No ism held him in its grip.

▪ He has held a strong grip over all matters at the club, from choosing the team to financial dealings.

keep

▪ They decide to go, too, but Frank has problems manoeuvring the car, whose tyres keep losing their grip.

▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.

▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.

▪ To all appearances, it kept a grip on at least 30 million Muslimsmore than the entire population of the Maghreb today.

▪ On the first day of the conference all parties were able to keep a grip on themselves and talk calmly.

▪ His main interest appeared to be keeping a grip on the speakership, not enacting policy.

▪ Rohmer was still talking to himself, still keeping that vice-clamp grip on Gilbert's wrist.

▪ Try these drive-time tips to ease your commute: Keep a relaxed grip on the steering wheel.

loosen

▪ The woman jabbed her cigarette into the man's face and he loosened his grip.

▪ When I loosened my grip on him he tried to run back toward Clarisa, stumbling and crawling.

▪ Instead, he waited until the first fierce flood of tears had passed, then loosened his grip on her a little.

▪ I felt a shock charge through my hand and could not loosen my grip.

▪ He made a choking noise, and Marco loosened his grip fractionally.

▪ Richard first noticed me from across the street as he loosened his grip on the lamppost.

▪ When there is none, he loosens his grip and turns away.

▪ Gedge showed an extraordinary reluctance to loosen his grip on Rigby.

lose

▪ He lost his grip and fell into the car's path.

▪ If Perelman succeeded, Gutfreund, for the first time, would lose his grip on the firm.

▪ Half way through, the film loses its grip on the day-to-day reality in Northern Ireland.

▪ Niyazov does not appear to be losing his grip.

▪ I had made loops to go over her wrists, I told her, so that she wouldn't lose her grip.

▪ If the car begins to fishtail, the back wheels have lost grip.

▪ He began a forlorn final game by losing his grip on the racket altogether.

▪ It almost ensures that the skier will lose his or her grip on the ice, and most likely fall.

maintain

▪ Much stronger is 27 f5 and if 27 ... f8 then 28 f4 will maintain White's grip.

▪ But through it all, the majestic wolf has maintained its grip on existence, albeit by some very slim margins.

▪ He is another who has failed to maintain a grip on the advancing technology of credit and payment.

relax

▪ Never for one moment does this shimmering, simmering emotional desert storm of a film relax its grip on your senses.

▪ Weeping with merriment, gleeful through and through, she never relaxed her grip.

▪ When he tries to say something I relax my grip.

▪ He relaxed his grip on the mug, rolled his sleeves down, pushed his chair back.

▪ Try these drive-time tips to ease your commute: Keep a relaxed grip on the steering wheel.

▪ The pilots cautiously relaxed their grip and let their muscles slacken.

▪ But attitudes of this kind took time to gain the upper hand: the past relaxed its grip only slowly.

release

▪ Tithonus directly begs the Gods to release him from their grip and let him die.

▪ Before the audience can figure it out, I release my grip and tumble to the ground.

▪ Then you can simply release your grip and back slowly away over a few paces.

▪ Virginia Stillman released her grip on the chair and put her right hand under her chin.

▪ For a split second, Constance failed to realise that he had released his grip on her.

▪ Benton, in his terror, released his grip on her waist.

▪ Emilia sighed and released her grip.

struggle

▪ Prost's second place was never likely to be challenged as Piquet struggled to find grip form his Pirellis.

▪ As the nation struggles to get a grip on medical costs, insurance companies have grabbed the reins.

▪ He struggled against the nightmare grip that paralysed him.

take

▪ However, Dorset took a firm grip declaring at 202-3 in 54.3 overs.

▪ I took a firm grip on the wheel as I scented some-thing.

▪ By the time the interval beckoned, Celtic had taken a grip on the game in midfield.

▪ He must take a grip on himself.

▪ She struck out blindly and found herself taken in a firm grip.

▪ It seems, this thins out as dementia takes a grip.

▪ Inserting his left hand, Grant took a firm grip and heaved upwards.

▪ Don't struggle: take a grip with pincers or pliers and remove the sucker as though pulling out a nail.

tighten

▪ However, planning permission is required, and legislation is tightening its grip on mast sites.

▪ His arm shook and he tightened his grip on the stock of the rifle to still it.

▪ Unthinking, she tightened her grip and felt him laugh under her hands.

▪ There were months of interrogations, torture and repression as the military tightened its grip on the country.

▪ He signalled us to keep still as he stood upright, tightening the grip on his spear.

▪ Oats tightened his grip on the axe.

▪ Denis tightened his grip on his gun.

▪ Instantly her hands tightened their grip.

try

▪ She sat there for nearly half an hour, staring at the wall, trying to get a grip.

▪ He was trying to get a grip on the world.

▪ Jessica breathed deeply, trying to get a grip.

▪ We are still trying to come to grips with the problems identified by the Romantics.

▪ She was trailing behind the other two and trying to get a grip on her nerves.

▪ Mr Mugabe is trying to keep his grip on power by turning one group against another.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a firm grip/hold/grasp etc

▪ As darkness gains a firmer grip the songbirds fade and the owls start.

▪ As soon as one does so, its lips close around it, giving it a firm hold.

▪ But at current levels the shares are a firm hold.

▪ Choose a firm hold variant which will keep your style in place during winder weather and light drizzle.

▪ Clumps of sturdy weed grew wherever they could take a firm hold.

▪ I keep a firm grip on my hat and stare into the blustery abyss.

▪ It's safe but you need to have a firm grip to cut a 13-amp flex.

▪ Usually this happens because the task is too broadly stated to get a firm grasp on it.

a tight hold/grip

▪ The new business manager has a tight hold on the budget.

▪ Apple, however, kept a tight grip on its technology and suffered the consequences.

▪ Dominic crept carefully down the stairs, keeping a tight hold on the gleaming mahogany banister.

▪ He had a tight hold on the audience, totally in command of his band.

▪ It should not be imagined that the tiny Party élite at either of these provincial levels could maintain a tight hold.

▪ She would be keeping a tight hold on her feelings from now on.

▪ The best way for the government to achieve this is to keep a tight grip on the tigerish tendencies of the economy.

▪ The purge reflects the party leadership's concern with keeping a tight hold on the political reins.

▪ We got up, he pushed me roughly towards the door, keeping a tight hold of me.

a vice-like grip

ease your grip

▪ He eases his grip on John's hand.

▪ She gave me a gooey smile and then eased her grip.

loosen your grip/hold

▪ He made a choking noise, and Marco loosened his grip fractionally.

▪ I felt a shock charge through my hand and could not loosen my grip.

▪ Instead, he waited until the first fierce flood of tears had passed, then loosened his grip on her a little.

▪ It was on a block where he encountered three soldiers that he began to loosen his hold on the sequence.

▪ Richard first noticed me from across the street as he loosened his grip on the lamppost.

▪ The woman jabbed her cigarette into the man's face and he loosened his grip.

▪ When I loosened my grip on him he tried to run back toward Clarisa, stumbling and crawling.

▪ When there is none, he loosens his grip and turns away.

relax your hold/grip

▪ But attitudes of this kind took time to gain the upper hand: the past relaxed its grip only slowly.

▪ He relaxed his grip on the mug, rolled his sleeves down, pushed his chair back.

▪ Never for one moment does this shimmering, simmering emotional desert storm of a film relax its grip on your senses.

▪ The pilots cautiously relaxed their grip and let their muscles slacken.

▪ Then with excruciating slowness he relaxed his hold, allowing her to back away a pace.

▪ Weeping with merriment, gleeful through and through, she never relaxed her grip.

▪ When he tries to say something I relax my grip.

tighten your grip/hold on sth

▪ He tightened his grip on the sub-machine-gun, waited for the helicopter to slow and swing towards him.

▪ His arm shook and he tightened his grip on the stock of the rifle to still it.

▪ However, planning permission is required, and legislation is tightening its grip on mast sites.

▪ It was only when they tensed, curling and tightening their grip on the floor, did he realise they were alive.

▪ Oats tightened his grip on the axe.

▪ The suspended despair inside her splintered into a shuddering sob and Fernando tightened his hold on her.

▪ There were months of interrogations, torture and repression as the military tightened its grip on the country.

▪ They tightened their grip on the girl.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪ I lost my grip on the branch, and fell out of the tree.

▪ If you're going rock-climbing, make sure you wear shoes that will give you a good grip.

▪ It's hard to get a good grip on this box.

▪ She looked anxious and tightened her grip on her shoulder bag.

▪ Squeeze a tennis ball regularly to improve your grip.

▪ The policeman had a firm grip on my arm.

▪ These tires assure good grip and a quiet, steady ride.

▪ This pen has a rubber grip for your fingers.

▪ To play this shot, you need to change your grip on the racquet slightly.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪ His arm shook and he tightened his grip on the stock of the rifle to still it.

▪ I had made loops to go over her wrists, I told her, so that she wouldn't lose her grip.

▪ Niyazov does not appear to be losing his grip.

▪ The bureaucratic swamp soon recovered its grip.

▪ The pre-tax figure was above City expectations and gave evidence that the bank is finally coming to grips with its bad-debt problem.

▪ The throttle twist grip on the end of the collective stick has to be coordinated with the up and down movements.

▪ They were so keen to get to grips with the enemy that they disregarded much of the training in stealth and guile.

▪ You could yell once he had his grip in.

II.verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

firmly

▪ A frond of endive approached his lips, hovered, was gripped firmly by admirably white teeth.

still

▪ The boy rose to his feet, still gripping the banisters and staring down at the figure in the doorway.

▪ Julie, still gripping the bloodied hammer, looked cautiously through the window by the front door.

▪ He was still gripping a Skorpion machine-pistol.

▪ She realised she was still gripping the stone, and dropped it with a little horrified cry.

▪ Fear of dying still grips our hearts.

▪ Perhaps some of us here tonight are still gripped by fear of death.

▪ MacMillan has come a long way since 1963 but Hermanas can still grip when done as well as this.

tightly

▪ Sensing she was being watched, she spun round to face the doorway, the Beretta gripped tightly at arm's length.

▪ These children often appear to be in agony as they awkwardly and ever-so-#tightly grip their writing implements.

■ NOUN

arm

▪ He gripped his arms in fear, his nerves at snapping point.

▪ Sam gripped the arm of the chair.

▪ He might have been an ebony statue, larger than life, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

▪ She gripped his arm tightly with both hands.

▪ But he gripped my arm and I was gagged and bound.

▪ He gripped her arm and pointed imperiously to the seat and she was glad to hurry and escape from his hard hand.

▪ She gripped my arms as she hugged me, as if to reassure herself I wasn't going to disappear.

▪ But he gripped hard at the arms of his chair and forced himself to attend.

country

▪ A World Cup-like atmosphere grips the country.

▪ Police and motoring organisations urged drivers to keep their speed down and take extra care as freezing fog gripped the country.

edge

▪ He gripped the edge of the nearest inspection plate and ripped a quarter of it away.

▪ Her upper body shot toward the desk, hands gripping the edges to steady her.

▪ Bull leaned out of the window, gripping the edge of the crumbling sill with spotlessly clean hands.

▪ I lay down and gripped the edges as the rug bubbled and rose beneath me.

▪ He threw down the washing-up mop and stood stock-still for a moment, gripping the edge of the sink.

▪ Maggie's stomach seemed to stay behind somewhere up above and her hands gripped the edge of the seat anxiously.

▪ Isabel dropped to the floor where she stood, one hand gripping the edge of the bench.

▪ Corbett stared down at his hands gripping the table edge.

fear

▪ That frantic jig at least had one positive effect: it released him from the fear that had gripped him so tightly.

▪ Still, fear grips me, compounded by self-disgust.

▪ Never has fear gripped me so tightly, yet it was exhilarating, fantastic even.

finger

▪ Four fingers were thrust, gripping, through a gap between the planks of the door.

▪ My fingers gripped the telephone receiver; my body tensed in a familiar effort to fight the rising emotion.

▪ He was tall and sinewy, and his fingers gripped her arms with a steely strength.

▪ Her long fingers gripped the spoon so tightly her knuckles were white.

▪ As his fingers gripped the knife and tugged, the blade sliced into his palm.

▪ The fingers gripping her windpipe slackened and Irina slumped backwards against the desk and slid to the ground.

▪ His fingers still gripped the edge of the door, his small body was pressed against it.

▪ Her fingers were gripping her dress, and she knew that she was trembling.

hand

▪ He left the bar with Maidstone's hat in his hand, gripping it firmly by the brim.

▪ How those middle-class Sorels and Maurrases adored it-the hand that gripped the knife with authority.

▪ One thin white hand gripped his wrist so hard that he yelped.

▪ One hand gripped my neck as he slowly entered me.

▪ He sat there, grim-faced, his left hand gripping the arm of his chair.

▪ Isabel dropped to the floor where she stood, one hand gripping the edge of the bench.

▪ One hand gripped a railing, the other drooped motionless at her side.

nation

▪ Even so, collective hypochondria grips the nation.

▪ The state has become a microcosm of the economic change that has gripped the nation.

▪ The move comes as the agriculture crisis continues to grip the nation.

▪ Thus, the crime epidemic now gripping the nation.

▪ But the big soap of the time was Emergency Ward 10, which gripped the nation every Tuesday night.

rail

▪ His hands gripped the rail firmly.

▪ Cobalt, who did not know, gripped the rail.

▪ Leonora gripped a rail with white-knuckled hands when the boat bucked as it met the wilder waters of the sound.

▪ He gripped the landing rail with hands as large as ham-hocks.

shoulder

▪ He shuddered at the sensation and his hands gripped her shoulders, moving with her, controlling her timing.

▪ But Lucy gripped her shoulders and Jay explored, dizzy with longing.

▪ Suddenly Stephen jerked his hand from her grasp and gripped her shoulder.

▪ His fingers gripped her shoulders cruelly.

side

▪ I sit with my arms wrapped around the chrome railing and my bare heels gripping the sides.

▪ They should grip the side of the wheel rim exactly when the brake levers are applied.

wheel

▪ He gripped the wheel tightly and held his face quite close to the windscreen.

▪ But the ride keeps you gripping the wheel.

▪ The Doctor swung himself round the door and gripped the locking wheel.

▪ Shortly after lunch, Durkin, attired in his motoring outfit, climbed into the car and gripped the steering wheel.

▪ Miguel stopped, gripping the wheel as he came to a red light.

▪ But no, he thought as he gripped the wheel.

▪ She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white.

wrist

▪ One thin white hand gripped his wrist so hard that he yelped.

▪ Donald Stewart the blacksmith had to grip his wrist to make him sign the paper.

▪ She rushed into the kitchen, gripping her left wrist with her right hand.

▪ Before he could head off for the dustbin, Elinor gripped his wrist firmly.

▪ The door opened, and he gripped her wrist and pulled her through.

▪ Of a sudden Lexandro's free hand gripped Valence's wrist with a power which would have crushed any ordinary bones.

▪ Pike was talking to a waitress and gripping her wrist very tightly.

■ VERB

feel

▪ Jack felt Evans's hand grip his arm.

▪ He felt her restraining grip on his ankles.

▪ He watched the altimeter unwind and felt his straps grip as the desert floor swung up to face him.

reach

▪ Involuntarily she reached out and gripped Bob's hand.

▪ This advice from a simpler world had reached across centuries and gripped us both.

▪ Evans swore beneath his breath and Jack reached out and gripped him in rebuke.