gripping

adjective

grip·​ping ˈgri-piŋ 

: taking a powerful hold upon one's interest or feelings

a gripping thriller

Shabba Ranks has a gripping baritone voice that ranges from bedroom purr to locker-room-boast roar.

—Mark Coleman

grippingly adverb

a grippingly honest performance

Examples of gripping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Among them were countless era-defining releases that are still among the best movies ever made—of any genre—from the haunting Rebecca to the gripping Rear Window, and the ravishing Vertigo to the hair-raising Psycho. —Radhika Seth, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025

For an equally gripping vegan alternative, try swapping out the butter for olive oil and the cheese for nutritional yeast. —The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025

Interested in the most gripping news from the courtroom and beyond? —Rachel Jacoby Zoldan, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025

The gripping drama, about a group of Swedish soldiers struggling with the complexities of war in the Balkans in the 1990s, screened earlier at Series Mania and Sarajevo Festival’s Avant Premiere Series. —Annika Pham, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gripping

• chipping
• clipping
• dipping
• dripping
• flipping
• nipping
• ripping
• shipping
• sipping
• skipping
• slipping
• snipping