grabble
Syllables: grab·ble/ˈɡɹæbl̩/
grabble verb: to search with one's hands and fingers; to attempt to grasp something.
Verb
grabble (third-person singular simple present grabbles, present participle grabbling, simple past and past participle grabbled)
- To search with one's hands and fingers; to attempt to grasp something.
- Ile grable for Gudgeons or fish for Flounders in the Rereward of our eminent temporizing Humorists, sharpe Satyrists, or Ænigmaticall Epigramatists.1614, John Taylor, Water-Worke: or, The Sculler’s Travels, Dedication, in All the Works of John Taylor the Water Poet, London: James Boler, 1630, reprinted for the Spenser Society, 1869
- […] when he should come to pay his Reckoning he puts his hands into his Pockets, and keeps a grabling and a fumbling, and shaking, at last tells you he has left his Money at home; when all the company knew at first, he had no Money there, for every man can quickly find his own Money.1689, John Selden, “Presbytery”, in Table-Talk, London: E. Smith, pages 48–49
- To search in a similar way using an implement.
- […] he proposes to spend the Afternoon at the Out-side of the Rock, in viewing the Sea, and looking for Oysters; so takes in his Hand his long Staff to grabble in Holes […]1727, Peter Longueville, The Hermit, Westminster: T. Warner and B. Creake, Book 3, p. 181
- To touch (someone) with one's hands or fingers, sometimes in a sexual way.
- When Nelly tho’ he teiz’d her,
And Grabbled her and Squeez’d her,
Cry’d, stay a little, I vow and swear I could kill ye,
Another touch I can bear ye,1719, Thomas d'Urfey, “Willey’s Intreague” in Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, London: J. Tonson, 1876 reprint, p. 195 - I struggle, confused, frightened, which he mistakes for excitement, grabbling my breasts, scrubbing them in circles as he plunges his tongue.2006, Ruth Francisco, “The Manikin”, in The Secret Memoirs of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Novel, New York: St. Martin’s Press, page 299
- When Nelly tho’ he teiz’d her,
- To pick (something or someone) up hastily, roughly or clumsily.
- [H]e did so stare at the money, that I vows I thought he'd have rin away with it from the counter—so I grabbled it up, and went away.1837, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter X, in Ernest Maltravers […] , volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 99
- He grabbled one of the canteens and, unfastening its cap, swung it down by the cord.1895, Stephen Crane, “A Mystery of Heroism”, in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Selected Stories, New York: Signet, published 1991, page 119
- To attempt to grab; to grasp at (something).
- The flailing mob of forty-fold took turns at throwing, each trying to lasso the sinking beast as it grabbled the air in blind terror in an attempt to keep its forelegs above the surface.1989, Nick Cave, And the Ass Saw the Angel, New York: HarperPaperbacks, published 1992, Book 2, Chapter 12, p. 228
- To pull, lift or dig (something) (out of the ground) by searching with one's hands and fingers.
- […] Harry went into the potato patch and grabbled us some sweet potatoes […]1865, W. W. McCarty, “History of Captain W. W. McCarty’s Prison Life, and Southern Prisons,” in History of the 78th Regiment O.V.V.I., Zanesville, OH: Hugh Dunne, p. 302
- Going through the woods, he grabbled acorns from under the snow, thinking to fling them in the hogshead, and find out if the jays would really eat them.1902, Martha McCulloch-Williams, chapter 9, in Next to the Ground: Chronicles of a Countryside, New York: McClure, Philips, pages 203–204
- Synonyms:
- grub
- To lift (something) out in a similar way using an implement.
- […] set all these togither on the fire, & boile them till the wine and water be consumed, and that the flesh and bones be separated a sunder, that you may with a paire of tongs grabble out the bones from the rest, thus let it be taken off and pressed through a piece of canuas, and keepe it to your...1596, William Clowes, “The cure of Lues Venerea”, in A Profitable and Necessarie Booke of Obseruations, London: Thomas Dawson, page 181
- To catch fish by reaching into the water with one's hand.
- You will also take many Flounders […] without a boat, in the drains and watercourses of embanked lands, and even with your hands, for the fish will often seek shelter under your feet if wading; this latter method is termed ‘Grabbling.’1868, J. C. Wilcocks, The Sea-Fisherman, 2nd edition, London: Longmans, Green, page 125
- “Now watch me,” said Uncle Huse, “and I’ll show you how to grabble fish.” Slowly his hand went down among the fish. “Look,” said he, “I am going to yank out de larges’.”1911, S. J. Kennerly, chapter 14, in The Story of Sam Tag, New York: The Cosmopolitan Press, page 149
- Synonyms:
- noodle
- To fish on the grabble.
- It was just after such a day that I grabbled fifty of the best salmon I ever saw—all fresh run from the sea.1840, uncredited author, chapter 8, in The Sportsman in Ireland, with His Summer Tour through the Highlands of Scotland, volume 2, London: Henry Colburn, page 109
- To utter inarticulate sounds, often quickly and loudly; to say (something) quickly, idly or foolishly.
- […] there was instantly a dreadful confusion and uproar in the room, and such a grabbling and laughing; he could not catch the words […]1868, Sheridan Le Fanu, “Squire Toby’s Will”, in Best Ghost Stories of J. S. Le Fanu, New York: Dover, published 1964, page 17
- “We are very grateful to you for coming, sir,” said Alleyn.
“Not at all, not at all,” grabbled Mr. Rattisbon. “Shocking affair. Dreadful.”1941, Ngaio Marsh, chapter 17, in Death of a Peer, New York: Jove Books, published 1980, page 253
- To lie prostrate; to sprawl on the ground.
- […] they conduct hym to the hygh way that leadeth to the temple of the goddesse Ceres, where after they haue placed hym, they leaue hym grabling in that place, and departe their waye.1584, uncredited translator (attributed to Barnabe Rich), The Famous Hystory of Herodotus, London: Thomas Marshe, Book 2
- A Loft O Soule; soare up, doe not turmoyle
Thy selfe by grabbling on a dunghill soyle:1637, James Day, “On contempt of the World”, in A New Spring of Divine Poetrie, London: Humphry Blunden, page 40
- Synonyms:
- grovel
Noun
grabble (uncountable)
- A method of fishing using a line with several hooks fastened to it along with a lead weight so that the hooks sit on the bottom.
- To lay / fish (up)on the grabble
- Some advise to angle for the common Eel upon the Grabble […]1740, chapter 11, in John Williamson, editor, The British Angler, London: J. Hodges, page 223
Examples of grabble in a sentence
- “Come here, boys, and let your gorgeous auntie grabble her hairy little monkeys!”2008, Lisa Gabriele, chapter 4, in The Almost Archer Sisters, New York: Simon & Schuster, page 47:
- “When Cave Men carry off little girls,” she said, “do they throw them over their shoulders,—or just grabble them up under their arms?”1915, Carolyn Wells, chapter 11, in The White Alley,, Philadelphia: Lippincott:
- Can I put on my bathing dress and grabble it up with my feet?”1934, Angela Thirkell, The Demon in the House, Part 3, Chapter 5:
- The horse grabbled it up with quivering lips.1962, Meindert DeJong, chapter 7, in The Singing Hill,, New York: Harper & Row, page 110:
Synonyms of grabble
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of grabble
| third-person singular present | grabbles |
|---|---|
| present participle | grabbling |
| past participle | grabbled |
| past | grabbled |
Origin of grabble
From grab + -le.
Words formed from grabble
Questions about grabble
- What does grabble mean?
- Grabble means to search with one's hands and fingers; to attempt to grasp something.
- How do you use grabble in a sentence?
- “Come here, boys, and let your gorgeous auntie grabble her hairy little monkeys!”
- What part of speech is grabble?
- Grabble can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce grabble?
- Grabble is pronounced /ˈɡɹæbl̩/.
- What is the past tense of grabble?
- The past tense of grabble is grabbled.
Words near grabble in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: grabble (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-grabble.wav.
Cite this entry: “grabble.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/grabble. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.