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Definition of grope verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

grope

verb
 
/ɡrəʊp/
 
/ɡrəʊp/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they grope
 
/ɡrəʊp/
 
/ɡrəʊp/
he / she / it gropes
 
/ɡrəʊps/
 
/ɡrəʊps/
past simple groped
 
/ɡrəʊpt/
 
/ɡrəʊpt/
past participle groped
 
/ɡrəʊpt/
 
/ɡrəʊpt/
-ing form groping
 
/ˈɡrəʊpɪŋ/
 
/ˈɡrəʊpɪŋ/
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  1. [intransitive] grope (around) (for something) to try and find something that you cannot see, by feeling with your hands
    • He groped around in the dark for his other sock.
    • She groped for the railing to steady her as she fell.
    • (figurative) ‘It’s so…, so…’ I was groping for the right word to describe it.
    Extra Examples
    • She groped blindly for the door handle.
    • I groped for the light switch.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • blindly
    • about
    • around
    preposition
    • for
    phrases
    • grope your way
    See full entry
  2. [transitive, intransitive] to try and reach a place by feeling with your hands because you cannot see clearly
    • grope your way + adv./prep. He groped his way up the staircase in the dark.
    • + adv./prep. She groped through the darkness towards the doors.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • blindly
    • about
    • around
    preposition
    • for
    phrases
    • grope your way
    See full entry
  3. [transitive] grope somebody (informal) to touch somebody sexually, especially when they do not want you to
    • She described how he had groped her whenever they were alone.
  4. Word OriginOld English grāpian, of West Germanic origin; related to gripe.
See grope in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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