Grasping means grabbing or holding something firmly with your hand. When you grasp a baseball bat, you wrap your fingers tightly around it so it won't slip. When a climber grasps a rope, she closes her hand securely to keep from falling.

The word is related to words like “grab” and “clasp,” which capture that sense of holding on tight. You might grasp your parent's hand in a crowded place, or grasp a pencil while concentrating on a difficult drawing.

But grasping also describes someone who constantly tries to grab more than their fair share, especially of money or power. A grasping person always wants more and isn't satisfied with what they have. If someone describes a character in a story as grasping, they mean that person is greedy and selfish, always reaching for what belongs to others. You can recognize a grasping person by how they act: they might pocket extra change that doesn't belong to them, or push to the front of every line, or claim credit for someone else's work.

There's also the phrase grasping at straws, which means desperately trying anything to solve a problem, even ideas that probably won't work. When you're grasping at straws, you're like someone who is struggling and tries to grab even tiny pieces of straw floating by, hoping they'll somehow help.