Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A tight hold; a firm grasp.
  • noun The pressure or strength of such a grasp.
  • noun A manner of grasping and holding.
  • noun Intellectual hold; understanding.
  • noun Ability to function properly or well; competence.
  • noun Mental or emotional composure.
  • noun A mechanical device that grasps and holds.
  • noun A part, such as a handle, that is designed to be grasped and held.
  • noun A suitcase or valise.
  • noun A stagehand who helps in shifting scenery.
  • noun A member of a film production crew who adjusts sets, lighting, and props and sometimes assists the camera operator.
  • intransitive verb To secure and maintain a tight hold on; seize firmly.
  • intransitive verb To hold the interest or attention of.
  • intransitive verb To maintain a secure grasp.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To grasp firmly with the hand; gripe; hence, to seize and hold fast by force of any kind.
  • Nautical, to take hold; hold fast: as, the anchor grips.
  • noun The act of grasping strongly with the hand or by other means; a seizing and holding fast; firm grasp: as, a friendly grip; the grip of a vise.
  • noun Mode of grasping; specifically, the grasp peculiar to any secret society as a means of recognition: as, the masonic grip.
  • noun That by which anything is grasped; a handle or hilt: as, the grip of a bow, of a sword or dagger, or of a gun-stock. See barrel, 5 .
  • noun In mining, a purchase or lifting-dog used to draw up boring-rods, by catching them under the collar at the joints.
  • noun In theatrical cant, a man employed to move scenery and properties.
  • noun A gripsack (which see).
  • noun A hole through which tarred rope is drawn, to press the tar into the yarn and remove the superfluous portion. Also called gage and sliding-nippers.
  • noun A clutching device attached to a railroad-car for connecting it with a moving traction-cable as a means of propulsion. See cable-railroad.
  • noun Epidemic influenza: same as grippe.
  • noun A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain.
  • noun Any kind of sink.
  • To trench; drain; cut into ditches or channels.
  • noun See gripe.
  • noun In track athletics, apiece of cork, shaped to fit the hollow of the hand, which a runner grips when running.

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

  • noun (Zoöl.), obsolete The griffin.
  • noun A small ditch or furrow.
  • transitive verb To trench; to drain.
  • transitive verb To give a grip to; to grasp; to gripe.
  • noun An energetic or tenacious grasp; a holding fast; strength in grasping.
  • noun A peculiar mode of clasping the hand, by which members of a secret association recognize or greet, one another.
  • noun That by which anything is grasped; a handle or gripe.
  • noun A device for grasping or holding fast to something.
  • noun Specif., an apparatus attached to a car for clutching a traction cable.
  • noun colloq. A gripsack; a hand bag; a satchel or suitcase.
  • noun (Med.) The influenza; grippe.

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

  • verb transitive To take hold of, particularly with the hand.
  • verb transitive To help or assist, particularly in an emotional sense.
  • verb intransitive To do something with another that makes you happy/gives you relief
  • noun A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English gripe, grasp and gripa, handful.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English grippan

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

An amalgam of Old English gripe ("grasp, hold") (cognate with German Griff) and Old English gripa ("handful") (cognate with Swedish grepp).

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Examples

Comments

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  • The person who pushes the 'dolly' on which the camera stands. The Grip is also responsible for ensuring the camera can get everywhere it needs to go to get the shot and lays down the tracks on which the 'dolly' runs.

    August 7, 2008