"get to grips with" meaning in English

See get to grips with in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-get to grips with.ogg Forms: gets to grips with [present, singular, third-person], getting to grips with [participle, present], got to grips with [past], got to grips with [UK, participle, past], gotten to grips with [US, participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> to grips with}} get to grips with (third-person singular simple present gets to grips with, present participle getting to grips with, simple past got to grips with, past participle (UK) got to grips with or (US) gotten to grips with)
  1. (idiomatic, chiefly UK) To deal (with something) decisively, or to confront (it) head on. Tags: UK, idiomatic Synonyms (to confront something directly): come to grips Related terms: lose one's grip
    Sense id: en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-i8ZpwTDX Categories (other): British English, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 57 23 20 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 71 15 14 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 76 12 12 Disambiguation of 'to confront something directly': 92 2 7
  2. (idiomatic, chiefly UK) To battle (with something). Tags: UK, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-8zzLLuNG Categories (other): British English
  3. (idiomatic, chiefly UK) To gain an understanding (of something). Tags: UK, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-pnNfyx9e Categories (other): British English

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> to grips with"
      },
      "expansion": "get to grips with (third-person singular simple present gets to grips with, present participle getting to grips with, simple past got to grips with, past participle (UK) got to grips with or (US) gotten to grips with)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "57 23 20",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "71 15 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 12 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To deal (with something) decisively, or to confront (it) head on."
      ],
      "id": "en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-i8ZpwTDX",
      "links": [
        [
          "deal",
          "deal"
        ],
        [
          "decisively",
          "decisively"
        ],
        [
          "confront",
          "confront"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To deal (with something) decisively, or to confront (it) head on."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "66 3 31",
          "word": "lose one's grip"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "92 2 7",
          "sense": "to confront something directly",
          "word": "come to grips"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              27,
              44
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport:",
          "text": "Estonia were struggling to get to grips with the game while Ireland were showing a composure and guile that demonstrated their experience in play-off ties.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To battle (with something)."
      ],
      "id": "en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-8zzLLuNG",
      "links": [
        [
          "battle",
          "battle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To battle (with something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              649,
              662
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2017 May 16, Jerry Stuger, “Kafka and Autism. The Undisclosed Logic Behind Kafka’s Work”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, volume 47, →DOI, pages 2336–2347:",
          "text": "[…] autism is the integral explanation of the phenomenon Kafka in all its expressions, and autism can explain the mystery of Kafka like no other of the interpretations proposed by literary scholars and critics in the history of Kafka research. […] The search by Kafka in his writing was for the unknown perspective in his fellow human beings which could put him at ease but he never managed to find it. He intuited this other state of mind and his writing is a testament of his search for this alien state of mind or self-consciousness which he tried to describe via parables, animal stories, aphorisms and images. His problem was that he could not 'get to grips with reality, more specifically his own reality, because he could not live with it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To gain an understanding (of something)."
      ],
      "id": "en-get_to_grips_with-en-verb-pnNfyx9e",
      "links": [
        [
          "understanding",
          "understanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To gain an understanding (of something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-get to grips with.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d3/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get to grips with"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "gets to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "getting to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "got to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "gotten to grips with",
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "get<,,got,got􂀿UK􂁀:gotten􂀿US􂁀> to grips with"
      },
      "expansion": "get to grips with (third-person singular simple present gets to grips with, present participle getting to grips with, simple past got to grips with, past participle (UK) got to grips with or (US) gotten to grips with)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "lose one's grip"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To deal (with something) decisively, or to confront (it) head on."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "deal",
          "deal"
        ],
        [
          "decisively",
          "decisively"
        ],
        [
          "confront",
          "confront"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To deal (with something) decisively, or to confront (it) head on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              27,
              44
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2011 November 11, Rory Houston, “Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland”, in RTE Sport:",
          "text": "Estonia were struggling to get to grips with the game while Ireland were showing a composure and guile that demonstrated their experience in play-off ties.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To battle (with something)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "battle",
          "battle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To battle (with something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              649,
              662
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2017 May 16, Jerry Stuger, “Kafka and Autism. The Undisclosed Logic Behind Kafka’s Work”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, volume 47, →DOI, pages 2336–2347:",
          "text": "[…] autism is the integral explanation of the phenomenon Kafka in all its expressions, and autism can explain the mystery of Kafka like no other of the interpretations proposed by literary scholars and critics in the history of Kafka research. […] The search by Kafka in his writing was for the unknown perspective in his fellow human beings which could put him at ease but he never managed to find it. He intuited this other state of mind and his writing is a testament of his search for this alien state of mind or self-consciousness which he tried to describe via parables, animal stories, aphorisms and images. His problem was that he could not 'get to grips with reality, more specifically his own reality, because he could not live with it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To gain an understanding (of something)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "understanding",
          "understanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly UK) To gain an understanding (of something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-get to grips with.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d3/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/En-au-get_to_grips_with.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "to confront something directly",
      "word": "come to grips"
    }
  ],
  "word": "get to grips with"
}

Download raw JSONL data for get to grips with meaning in English (3.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-04-29 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-04-20 using wiktextract (4eaa824 and ea19a0a). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.