gripping

1 of 2

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

gripping

2 of 2

present participle of grip entry 1

Examples of gripping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

This new doc is a gripping watch, with incredible access to the principals. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026

Hoover’s 2018 novel, Verity, is a gripping mystery where trust is elusive and the line between fiction and reality blurs. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Empires is surreal and gripping, a novelist’s telling of the disorientation and violence of imperial conquest. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026

This gripping novel, set in a fictional, rural Colorado town, explores family dynamics, guilt versus innocence, right versus wrong, forgiveness and, yes, penitence. — The Know, Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1896, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gripping

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