grapple

1. 1.

   succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available

   “We got by on just a gallon of gas”

   “They made do on half a loaf of bread every day”

   Synonymscopeget bymake outmake docontenddealmanage

   Broaderact

   Narrowerimprovisefendhackscrape along
2. 2.

   to grip or seize, as in a wrestling match

   “the two men grappled with each other for several minutes”

   Synonymsgrip

   Broaderseize

Other forms of grapple

plural

grapples·

past tense

grappled·

present participle

grappling·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about grapple

What does grapple mean?

grapple means "a tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding; often thrown with a rope". That is the primary sense; the word has 5 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in grapple?

grapple has 2 syllables: grap-ple. The stress falls on "grap". In IPA it is /ˈɡɹæpəl/.

What is another word for grapple?

Close synonyms include grapnel, grappler, grappling hook, grappling iron, clamshell. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is grapple a common word?

grapple is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.