grasp at

phrasal verb

grasped at; grasping at; grasps at

: to try to take or get (something) in an eager or desperate way

They were ready to grasp at any possible solution.

He grasped at the opportunity to speak with her.

Examples of grasp at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The woman’s eyes are squeezed shut, and her hand grasps at Trump’s elbow. —

Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024 Robinson, in his fourth year out of Stanford, immediately grasped at his right knee after racing down on punt coverage. —

Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2024 This is grasping at something, or really at everything, everywhere, all the time. —

Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024 McLaughlin bailed out a dead-in-the-water fourth-and-goal toss by leaving two Bucs grasping at air and dashing into the corner of the end zone to put the Broncos ahead 14-0 late in the first quarter. —

Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for grasp at