grasp

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To take hold of or seize firmly with the hand, the foot, another body part, or an instrument.
• intransitive verb To hold with the arms; embrace.
• intransitive verb To take hold of intellectually; comprehend. synonym: understand.
• intransitive verb To make a motion of seizing, snatching, or clutching.
• intransitive verb To show eager and prompt willingness or acceptance.
• noun The act of grasping.
• noun A firm hold or grip.
• noun An embrace.
• noun The ability or power to seize or attain; reach.
• noun Understanding; comprehension.
• idiom (grasp) To search in desperation for a solution to a difficulty.
• idiom (grasp the nettle) To take on a difficult problem directly and energetically.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To seize and hold by clasping or embracing with the fingers or arms.
• To seize upon; take possession of.
• To seize by the intellect; become thoroughly cognizant of; comprehend.
• To make a grasp, or the motion of grasping; seize something firmly or eagerly.
• noun A grip or seizure by the hand; the act of taking or attempting to take hold of something.
• noun Power of seizing and holding; forcible possession.
• noun Power of the intellect to seize and comprehend subjects; wide-reaching power of comprehension.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To seize and hold by clasping or embracing with the fingers or arms; to catch to take possession of.
• transitive verb To lay hold of with the mind; to become thoroughly acquainted or conversant with; to comprehend.
• intransitive verb To effect a grasp; to make the motion of grasping; to clutch; to struggle; to strive.
• intransitive verb to catch at; to try to seize; as, Alexander grasped at universal empire
• noun A gripe or seizure of the hand; a seizure by embrace, or infolding in the arms.
• noun Reach of the arms; hence, the power of seizing and holding.
• noun Forcible possession; hold.
• noun Wide-reaching power of intellect to comprehend subjects and hold them under survey.
• noun The handle of a sword or of an oar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb To grip; to take hold, particularly with the hand.
• verb To understand.
• noun grip
• noun understanding
• noun that which is accessible; that which is within one's reach or ability

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb hold firmly
• verb get the meaning of something
• noun the act of grasping
• noun an intellectual hold or understanding
• noun understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
• noun the limit of capability