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
Birnbaum couldn’t have grasped at the time how fundamentally and importantly boring so much of Murakami’s writing is.
—
Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for grasp at 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bailey Trela, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for grasp at
Dictionary Entries Near grasp at
Cite this Entry
“Grasp at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grasp%20at. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share