as in control
the right or means to command or control others
the cult leader had such a death grip on his followers that all orders were carried out without the slightest objection
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Recent Examples of death grip
Detachment creates attachment The death grip on your goals is what's killing them.
—
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Next, scientists will need to examine Cretaceous leaves for evidence of death grips to see if the prehistoric fungi had evolved to manipulate insects’ behavior during this time, says Jarzembowski in the statement.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
After further assessment and some discussion, the team focused on the quad, which evidently had a death grip on Tichyque’s femur.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2025
Alma clutched her arm and didn’t let go—a death grip.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for death grip
Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Next, scientists will need to examine Cretaceous leaves for evidence of death grips to see if the prehistoric fungi had evolved to manipulate insects’ behavior during this time, says Jarzembowski in the statement.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2025
After further assessment and some discussion, the team focused on the quad, which evidently had a death grip on Tichyque’s femur.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2025
Alma clutched her arm and didn’t let go—a death grip.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for death grip
Recent Examples of Synonyms for death grip
Noun
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The project also required coordinated operation between the large heat pump and the mechanical vapor recompression unit across all operating phases, with system integration and process control designed to ensure stable and efficient performance under varying production conditions.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
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According to analysts, China is walking a fine line between encouraging domestic development of AI models and maintaining strict controls on how those models are used.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Food and drink Onsite restaurant L’Escale is just as much a Greenwich institution as the hotel itself—a proper entity conveniently attached at the hip to your lodging for power lunchers in daylight, special-occasion diners in the evening, and a rotating cast of Hopper subjects always at the bar.—
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Feb. 2026
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Republicans often couched their fury at speech restrictions — around right-wing cultural politics and COVID-19, in particular — as part of a broader critique of corporate power.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The driver is dominion, not religion.—
Josef Joffe,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
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Cosmological queries were the dominion of philosophers, says Jenann Ismael—herself a philosopher of physics at Johns Hopkins University.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The only recognizable Mustard tic is the ubiquitous finger snaps, which mostly add sway.—
Stephen Kearse,
Pitchfork,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Banks and supermarkets sit on corners where drug dealers held sway.—
Michael Powell,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His reign was pockmarked by disputes with players and wildly inconsistent results.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Light flows in from the garden, and quiet reigns.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Death grip.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/death%20grip. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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