grasped

Grasped is the past tense and past participle of grasp. It describes two main ideas: a physical action of seizing and a mental action of understanding. In the physical sense, grasped means held firmly, as when someone grasped the rope. In the cognitive sense, grasped signals that a concept or problem has been understood.

Common usages include literal scenes and figurative expressions. Examples: "She grasped the handle and pulled herself up," and "He finally grasped the concept after the teacher explained it." Idioms include "to have a firm grasp on something" and "to come to grips with" a difficult situation. The participle can also appear in passive constructs such as "the concept was grasped by the students" or in perfect tenses like "she had grasped the meaning."

Grasped is often contrasted with "grip" and "grasping" to convey nuance. While "grip" emphasizes a physical hold, "grasp" covers both physical hold and mental comprehension, though in many contexts the physical sense is straightforward. The term is widely used across formal and informal English to describe taking hold or achieving understanding.