death grip

noun

Definition of death grip

1 : an extremely tight grip caused especially by fear

2 : hold sense 3b maintained their death grip on overseas markets

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Examples of death grip in a Sentence

He drove straight through the storm, never loosening his death grip on the steering wheel. the cult leader had such a death grip on his followers that all orders were carried out without the slightest objection

Recent Examples on the Web

The kid still had his hands sealed in a death grip on the handles. — Jeff Johnson, Outside Online, "Jeff Johnson on the First Time He Saved a Life," 11 July 2018 But, death grip handshakes aside, Trump has so far been gushingly polite in his dealings with Asian leaders. — Joseph Hincks / Seoul, Time, "Translating Trump and Kim: Spare a Thought for the Interpreters at the June 12 Summit," 11 June 2018 If this means easing some of that dividend death grip, so be it. — Anchorage Daily News, "Break the deadlock, tap the fund," 21 Jan. 2018 Maybe our death grip on our phones, which now occupy five hours of every day, isn’t a personal failing—lack of willpower, rudeness, narcissism. — Nitasha Tiku, WIRED, "The WIRED Guide to Internet Addiction," 18 Apr. 2018 Buy Synthetics with Odor-Fighting Treatment Synthetics like polyester are notorious for holding onto funk with a death grip. — Joe Jackson, Outside Online, "How to Rid Your Gear of Funky Smells," 13 Apr. 2018 But the implacability of the act, and the meticulous deconstruction of the vehicle, reveals not only Bradley’s brute strength and boiling point, but also his director’s death grip on style and tempo. — Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, "Review: ‘Brawl in Cell Block 99’ Features a Revelatory Vince Vaughn," 5 Oct. 2017 There is, Kurniawan suggests, a wisp of a line between selfish cruelty and righteous violence, between voyeurism and action, between a passionate embrace and a death grip. — Jane Yong Kim, The Atlantic, "Eka Kurniawan's Darkly Comic Tale of Boyhood," 15 Sep. 2017 In their first meeting, at a NATO summit in Brussels in May, the two leaders’ handshake devolved into a death grip, in which their knuckles were described as turning white and their jaws as clenching. — Rebecca Ballhaus And William Horobin, WSJ, "Trump Meeting Macron in Paris Amid Controversy at Home," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'death grip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of death grip was in 1792

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More Definitions for death grip

death grip

noun

English Language Learners Definition of death grip

: a very tight hold on something

See the full definition for death grip in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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