phrase

• Dominated or affected by something undesirable or adverse.

  ‘Britain was in the grip of a crime wave’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Is it any wonder the country is in the grip of so much appeasement, irrationality and ignorance?’
  • ‘When she returned New Zealand was in the grip of the Depression of the thirties with high unemployment.’
  • ‘Italy has been in the grip of a cold spell for several days, and shortly after the fire began, snow began falling.’
  • ‘The area is in the grip of alcohol, illegal drugs and chronic unemployment.’
  • ‘As the whole nation is in the grip of a grave crisis of credibility, there is a pressing need to prioritize honesty.’
  • ‘The end of the trial, however, has given us an insight into how parts of urban Britain are in the grip of a crimewave the law barely touches.’
  • ‘The clinic is already under extreme pressure because Manchester is in the grip of a syphilis and gonorrhoea outbreak.’
  • ‘By then, that lovely but vulnerable young woman was in the grip of a depression almost too strong to shake.’
  • ‘Bolton is in the grip of a mumps outbreak with more cases diagnosed in the first five months of the year than in the whole of 2004.’
  • ‘Hampshire could be in the grip of a drought in just six weeks' time.’