Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That by which anything is seized and held; a grapnel.
  • noun An anchorage.
  • noun A lernæan parasite of the menhaden: so called from having the shape of a grappling-iron.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A laying fast ho1d of; also, that by which anything is seized and held, a grapnel.
  • noun A grapple; a struggle. A match for yards in fight, in grappling for the bear.
  • noun a hooked iron used for grappling and holding fast a vessel or other object.
  • noun broad-mouthed tongs for gathering oysters.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of grapple.
  • noun An act in which something is grappled or grappled with

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
  • noun the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down

Etymologies

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