Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
greifen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
greifen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
greifen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
greifen you have here. The definition of the word
greifen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
greifen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German grîfen, from Old High German grīfan, from Proto-West Germanic *grīpan, from Proto-Germanic *grīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreyb- (“to grab, grasp”).
Pronunciation
Verb
greifen (class 1 strong, third-person singular present greift, past tense griff, past participle gegriffen, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to grab; to grasp; to grip (something)
- (transitive) to grab; to seize; to snatch (in an aggressive way)
- (intransitive) to reach; to grab
- an etwas greifen ― to touch something (literally, “to grab onto something”)
- nach etwas greifen ― to reach for something
- zu etwas greifen ― to reach for something
- in etwas greifen ― to reach into something
- (transitive) to capture (someone)
- Synonyms: schnappen, fassen
- (transitive, music, chords) to strike
- Synonym: anschlagen
1931, Arthur Schnitzler, Flucht in die Finsternis, S. Fischer Verlag, page 14:Er begab sich ins Klavierzimmer, griff ein paar Akkorde auf dem verstimmten Flügel, verließ aber bald wieder den Raum, [...]- He went to the piano room, struck a few chords on the out-of-tune grand piano, but soon left the room again,
- (intransitive) to take hold; to bite
- Trotz des schlechten Wetters griffen die Reifen hervorragend ― The tires did bite perfectly despite the bad weather.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
greifen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
greifen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “greifen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “greifen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “greifen” in Duden online
- “greifen” in OpenThesaurus.de