grasp
/ɡɹɑːsp/
"grasp" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“grasp” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,455 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #7,455
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | grasp |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɡɹɑːsp/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #7,455 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “grasp” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for grasp is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹɑːsp/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,455 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for grasp, with forms such as "garsp", "ggrasp", and "graps". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "GSP", "gray", "grip", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English graspen, grapsen, craspen (“to grope; feel around”), from Old English *grǣpsian, from Proto-West Germanic *graipisōn, from Proto-Germanic *graipisōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), the same ultimate source a… The correct English form is grasp, spelled G-R-A-S-P.
Definition
- 1To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.
- 2To understand.
- 3To take advantage of something, to seize, to jump at a chance.
Etymology
From Middle English graspen, grapsen, craspen (“to grope; feel around”), from Old English *grǣpsian, from Proto-West Germanic *graipisōn, from Proto-Germanic *graipisōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), the same ultimate source as grab. Cognate with Saterland Frisian grapsje (“to grab, grasp”), German Low German grapsen (“to grab; grasp”), German grapsen and grapschen, Old English grāpian ("to touch, feel, grasp"; > Modern English grope). Compare also Swedish krafsa (“to scatch; scabble”), Norwegian krafse (“to scramble”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: garsp,ggrasp,graps,graspp,grassp,grrasp,grsap,rgasp
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grasp - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “grasp”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-S-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹɑːsp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “GSP” - see the side-by-side comparison. grasp vs GSP
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.