WordWeb Online

1. Immoderately desirous of acquiring e.g. wealth
   "a grasping old miser"; "grasping commercialism";
   - avaricious, covetous, grabby [N. Amer, informal], greedy, prehensile

1. Understanding with difficulty
   "the lecture was beyond his most strenuous graspings"
    
2. The act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles)
   - taking hold, seizing, prehension

1. Hold firmly
   - hold on
    
2. Get the meaning of something
   "Do you grasp the meaning of this letter?";
   - grok [N. Amer, informal], get the picture, comprehend, savvy, dig [informal], compass, apprehend

Derived forms: graspings

See also: acquisitive

Type of: apprehension, control, discernment, hold, savvy, take hold, understand, understanding

Encyclopedia: Grasping