1. Hold or seize, as in a wrestling match
   "the two men grappled with each other for several minutes";
   - grip
    
2. Engage with and attempt to overcome a difficulty or challenge
   "Scientists grapple with complex theories";
   - cope, contend, deal, manage

1. The act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
   "they had a fierce grapple";
   - wrestle, wrestling, grappling, hand-to-hand struggle
    
2. A tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding; often thrown with a rope
   "The climber used a grapple to secure the rope to the cliff face";
   - grapnel, grappler, grappling hook, grappling iron
    
3. A dredging bucket with hinges like the shell of a clam
   "The construction crew used a grapple to excavate mud from the river bottom";
   - clamshell

Derived forms: grappled, grappling, grapples

Type of: clutch, dredging bucket, prehend [archaic], seize, struggle, take hold, take hold of, tool

Encyclopedia: Grapple