1
a
: the act or an instance of grappling
b
: a hand-to-hand struggle
locked in a desperate grapple with his foe
c
: a contest for superiority or mastery
their grapple with tyranny
2
: an instrument for grabbing or gripping something: such as
a
: a bucket (as on an excavating machine) having hinged jaws
b
grappled; grappling
ˈgra-p(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to seize with or as if with a grapple (see grapple entry 1 sense 2)
2
: to grasp with the hands : wrestle
3
: to bind closely
1
: to make a ship fast with a grappling hook
2
: to begin to understand or deal with something in a direct or effective way
Officials grappled with an increase in violent crimes.
3
: to use a grapple
Examples of grapple in a Sentence
Noun
was simply unable to break my opponent's viselike grapple and lost the wrestling match
after a grapple with his conscience, he confessed to having an affair
Verb
two sumo wrestlers grappling like a pair of mammoth bears
a crane grappled the sunken boat and hoisted it above water
Recent Examples on the Web
Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
The change comes as the state grapples with budget pressure and a growing price tag for the health care expansion.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Michael Cuby, Them., 2 June 2025
The final chapter will see s Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) after losing his best friend in the game and grappling over the actions of The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who was hiding his true identity by being a player in the game.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grapple
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Noun
This transition places them in a particularly sensitive position: while society at large grapples with the swift evolution of AI, adolescents are simultaneously in the crucial period of their brain’s development.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
The change comes as the state grapples with budget pressure and a growing price tag for the health care expansion.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Verb
In season one, the character’s race was largely a non-factor, but season two pushes his Blackness to the fore, forcing him to grapple with the implications of serving an institution entrenched in white idealism.
—Michael Cuby, Them., 2 June 2025
The final chapter will see s Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) after losing his best friend in the game and grappling over the actions of The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who was hiding his true identity by being a player in the game.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grapple
Cite this Entry
“Grapple.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grapple. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grapple
2 of 2 verb
grappled; grappling
ˈgrap-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to seize or hold with or as if with a hooked instrument
2
: to seize and struggle with one another
3
: to attempt to deal
grappled with a problem
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