grip

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

• noun A tight hold; a firm grasp.
• noun The pressure or strength of such a grasp.
• noun A manner of grasping and holding.
• noun Intellectual hold; understanding.
• noun Ability to function properly or well; competence.
• noun Mental or emotional composure.
• noun A mechanical device that grasps and holds.
• noun A part, such as a handle, that is designed to be grasped and held.
• noun A suitcase or valise.
• noun A stagehand who helps in shifting scenery.
• noun A member of a film production crew who adjusts sets, lighting, and props and sometimes assists the camera operator.
• intransitive verb To secure and maintain a tight hold on; seize firmly.
• intransitive verb To hold the interest or attention of.
• intransitive verb To maintain a secure grasp.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To grasp firmly with the hand; gripe; hence, to seize and hold fast by force of any kind.
• Nautical, to take hold; hold fast: as, the anchor grips.
• noun The act of grasping strongly with the hand or by other means; a seizing and holding fast; firm grasp: as, a friendly grip; the grip of a vise.
• noun Mode of grasping; specifically, the grasp peculiar to any secret society as a means of recognition: as, the masonic grip.
• noun That by which anything is grasped; a handle or hilt: as, the grip of a bow, of a sword or dagger, or of a gun-stock. See barrel, 5 .
• noun In mining, a purchase or lifting-dog used to draw up boring-rods, by catching them under the collar at the joints.
• noun In theatrical cant, a man employed to move scenery and properties.
• noun A gripsack (which see).
• noun A hole through which tarred rope is drawn, to press the tar into the yarn and remove the superfluous portion. Also called gage and sliding-nippers.
• noun A clutching device attached to a railroad-car for connecting it with a moving traction-cable as a means of propulsion. See cable-railroad.
• noun Epidemic influenza: same as grippe.
• noun A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain.
• noun Any kind of sink.
• To trench; drain; cut into ditches or channels.
• noun See gripe.
• noun In track athletics, apiece of cork, shaped to fit the hollow of the hand, which a runner grips when running.

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

• noun (Zoöl.), obsolete The griffin.
• noun A small ditch or furrow.
• transitive verb To trench; to drain.
• transitive verb To give a grip to; to grasp; to gripe.
• noun An energetic or tenacious grasp; a holding fast; strength in grasping.
• noun A peculiar mode of clasping the hand, by which members of a secret association recognize or greet, one another.
• noun That by which anything is grasped; a handle or gripe.
• noun A device for grasping or holding fast to something.
• noun Specif., an apparatus attached to a car for clutching a traction cable.
• noun colloq. A gripsack; a hand bag; a satchel or suitcase.
• noun (Med.) The influenza; grippe.

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

• verb transitive To take hold of, particularly with the hand.
• verb transitive To help or assist, particularly in an emotional sense.
• verb intransitive To do something with another that makes you happy/gives you relief
• noun A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand.