death grip

noun

1

: an extremely tight grip caused especially by fear

2

: hold sense 3b

maintained their death grip on overseas markets

Synonyms

• arm
• authority
• clutch
• command
• control
• dominion
• grip
• hold
• mastery
• power
• reign
• rein(s)
• sway

Examples of death grip in a Sentence

He drove straight through the storm, never loosening his death grip on the steering wheel.

the cult leader had such a death grip on his followers that all orders were carried out without the slightest objection

Recent Examples on the Web

Its strategy relied on maintaining a death grip on existing customers. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024

Smash the party’s death grip on the court and vote for Wendy Li. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 25 June 2024

And Arab regimes have not, in fact, established a death grip on public mobilization. —Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2024

This rebalancing also means a headset with roughly the same weight as the Quest 2 can sit securely on your face without the need to tighten the head strap in a death grip around your skull, leading to noticeably less pressure on the area around your eyes and sinuses. —Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1