Meaning & use

grapnel

noun·Advanced

A device with several curved hooks attached to a rope, used for gripping, dragging, or anchoring.

See it in a sentence

The sailors threw a grapnel to snag the drifting boat and pull it alongside.

Rescuers used a grapnel to retrieve the bag that had fallen into the well.

A note on using this word

A grapnel functions like a small anchor with multiple flukes, and is often called a grappling hook in everyday speech.

Words with a similar meaning

grappling hook

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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