death grip
noun
1
: an extremely tight grip caused especially by fear
2
: hold sense 3b
maintained their death grip on overseas markets
Synonyms
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
This rebalancing also means a headset with roughly the same weight as the Quest 2 can sit securely on your face without the need to tighten the head strap in a death grip around your skull, leading to noticeably less pressure on the area around your eyes and sinuses.
—
Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 Oct. 2023
Such talk is music to the ears of Believe’s 52-year-old CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, who co-founded the business in 2005, when technology had the music industry in a death grip that sent global sales of recorded music from a peak of more than $24 billion in 1999 to a bottom of $14 billion in 2014.
—Ariel Shapiro, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
The patented shooting yoke holds your rifle in a, well, death grip to give you repeatable shots and hands-free positioning in any shooting condition.
—T. Logan Metesh, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2023
Infection of the peripheral nerves has reduced the length of the tendons and a concurrent loss of muscle strength has resulted in the tense, death grip seen in the last picture below.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2011
Only the oil industry’s death grip on the G.O.P. and the craven opportunism of West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema hold back the future.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2021
Control groups were infected with a separate fungus, Beauvaria bassiana, which also kills ants, but does not induce a death grip.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2019
Instead, the fungus, known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, mangles the ant’s jaws, causing the signature death grip that seals their fates.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2019
After locking an enemy in a death grip, these ants bend and compress their abdomens so forcefully that the liquid violently ruptures out of several points on their rear-end.
—Douglas Main, Discover Magazine, 14 Sep. 2011
Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 13 Oct. 2023
Such talk is music to the ears of Believe’s 52-year-old CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, who co-founded the business in 2005, when technology had the music industry in a death grip that sent global sales of recorded music from a peak of more than $24 billion in 1999 to a bottom of $14 billion in 2014.
—Ariel Shapiro, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021
The patented shooting yoke holds your rifle in a, well, death grip to give you repeatable shots and hands-free positioning in any shooting condition.
—T. Logan Metesh, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2023
Infection of the peripheral nerves has reduced the length of the tendons and a concurrent loss of muscle strength has resulted in the tense, death grip seen in the last picture below.
—Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2011
Only the oil industry’s death grip on the G.O.P. and the craven opportunism of West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema hold back the future.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2021
Control groups were infected with a separate fungus, Beauvaria bassiana, which also kills ants, but does not induce a death grip.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2019
Instead, the fungus, known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, mangles the ant’s jaws, causing the signature death grip that seals their fates.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2019
After locking an enemy in a death grip, these ants bend and compress their abdomens so forcefully that the liquid violently ruptures out of several points on their rear-end.
—Douglas Main, Discover Magazine, 14 Sep. 2011
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'death grip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near death grip
Cite this Entry
“Death grip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20grip. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share