Navigation
Home
Resources
Irregular verbs quizzes English conjugator English-French dictionary French dictionary English dictionary Monolingual dictionaries Scores by institution Free sample tests FAQ Pricing Tourism training Blog Videos
Login Sign up
Blog
Videos
Pricing
FR EN

clasp

noun, verb — 6 senses

clasp

noun

UK /klɑːsp/ · US /klæsp/

Etymology Noun dated ca. 1300 and verb dated ca. 1400; from Middle English claspe (“metal catch or hook used to hold things together”), possible metathesis of clapse, which comes from or related to Old English clyppan (“clasp”) (also see clip (verb)). Related to English enclasp (“embrace, hold tightly in one's arms”). Compare hasp, of very similar meaning but older known provenance.

1

A device with interlocking parts used for fastening things together, such as a fastener or a holder.

  • I always have a hard time working the clasp on this necklace!
2

A bar or insignia on a medal ribbon, to either indicate an additional award of the medal, or the action or service for which it was awarded.

3

An embrace, a grasp, or handshake.

  • He took her hand in a firm clasp.
  • How few! yet how they creep / Through my fingers to the deep, / While I weep—while I weep! / O God! can I not grasp / Them with a tighter clasp?1849 March 31, Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: […], volumes II (Poems and Miscellanies), New York, N.Y.: J. S. Redfield, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 40:
Derived terms
clasp brake, claspin, clasp-knife, claspless, clasp lock, clasp locker, handclasp, tie clasp

clasp

verb

Etymology Noun dated ca. 1300 and verb dated ca. 1400; from Middle English claspe (“metal catch or hook used to hold things together”), possible metathesis of clapse, which comes from or related to Old English clyppan (“clasp”) (also see clip (verb)). Related to English enclasp (“embrace, hold tightly in one's arms”). Compare hasp, of very similar meaning but older known provenance.

1

To take hold of; to grasp.

  • They clasped hands and parted as friends.
  • And when the Boy dropped off to sleep, the Rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream, with the Boy's hands clasped close round him all night long.1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit:
1 more example
  • The poor dear lady shivered, and I could see the tension of her nerves as she clasped her husband closer to her and bent her head lower and lower still on his breast.1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
2

To shut or fasten together with, or as if with, a clasp.

3

Obsolete, Rare To cling.

Synonyms
beclasp, begrip, grasp, grip, attach, join, put together
Derived terms
clasper, reclasp, stem-clasping, unclasp
Related terms
enclasp

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

Learn more