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PlainSpell

grapple

grap·ple/ˈɡɹæpəl/verb, noun

grapple is spelled G-R-A-P-P-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (grap·ple). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, grapple means “To seize something and hold it firmly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in grapple?

Letters7: G-R-A-P-P-L-E
Syllables2: grap·ple
In writing1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is grapple?

Grapple appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce grapple?

  • US /ˈɡɹæpəl/

Grapple has 2 syllables, split grap·ple in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-grapple.oga, En-au-grapple.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with grapple?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as grapple from its last stressed vowel (/æpəl/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of grapple

  • grapples present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • grappling participle, present
  • grappled participle, past
  • graple

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does grapple mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To seize something and hold it firmly.

  2. 2

    To wrestle or tussle.

  3. 3

    To ponder and intensely evaluate a problem; to struggle to deal with.

    to grapple with one's conscience

  4. 4

    To fasten, as with a grapple; (by extension) to fix; to join indissolubly.

    Morgan recoiled, ready to fend off another attack, but the rope grappled him back against the fence.

  5. 5

    To climb (whether by means of a grapple and rope, or by hand, etc).

  6. 6

    To use a grapple (for example to attempt to find, hook, and raise a net or cable).

    After returning from the cable factory with another load of cable and repeaters, the buoy will be recovered or the rope grappled for. When the previous section is aboard the ship, transmission tests are made […]

  7. 7

    To hook and raise with a grapple.

noun

  1. 1

    A close hand-to-hand struggle.

  2. 2

    The act of grappling. (uncountable)

  3. 3

    A device consisting of iron claws, attached to the end of a rope, used for grasping and holding an enemy ship prior to boarding; a grappling iron.

  4. 4

    A grapnel (“type of anchor”).

  5. 5

    A combination of grape and apple flavors.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Grapple in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchagripper, saisir (to seize and hold firmly), lutte, combat (a close hand-to-hand struggle), abordage (act of grappling), grappin (tool with claws or hooks)
Germanpacken, ergreifen (to seize and hold firmly), ringen, kämpfen, raufen (to wrestle or struggle), auseinandersetzen (to ponder and intensely evaluate a problem)
Portugueseagarrar (to seize and hold firmly), agarramento (act of grappling), lutar (to wrestle or struggle), abordar, lidar (to ponder and intensely evaluate a problem)
Spanishforcejón (a close hand-to-hand struggle), forcejeo, forcejo (act of grappling), arpeo (tool with claws or hooks), forcejear, forcejar (to wrestle or struggle)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does grapple come from?

From Middle English *grapplen (“to seize, lay hold of”), from Old English *græpplian (“to seize”) (compare Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”)), from Proto-Germanic *graipilōną, *grabbalōną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), equivalent to grab + -le.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after grapple