grappling

Noun

Synonyms: wrestle wrestling grapple hand-to-hand struggle rassling

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat“they had a fierce wrestle”“we watched his grappling and wrestling with the bully”Synonyms: wrestle wrestling grapple hand-to-hand struggle
the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other downSynonyms: wrestling rassling

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Grapple \Grap"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grappled; p. pr. & vb. n. Grappling.] [F. grappiller, OF. graypil the grapple of a ship, fr. graper to pluck, prop., to seize, clutch; of German origin. See Grape.]

1.To seize; to lay fast hold of; to attack at close quarters: as, to grapple an antagonist. [1913 Webster]

2.To fasten, as with a grapple; to fix; to join indissolubly. [1913 Webster]

The gallies were grappled to the Centurion.— Hakluyt.[1913 Webster]

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.— Shak.[1913 Webster]

Grappling \Grap"pling\, n.

1.A laying fast ho1d of; also, that by which anything is seized and held, a grapnel. [1913 Webster]

2.A grapple; a struggle. A match for yards in fight, in grappling for the bear. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Grappling iron, a hooked iron used for grappling and holding fast a vessel or other object.

Grappling tongs, broad-mouthed tongs for gathering oysters. [1913 Webster]