Standard Lemma guide

prehend

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /pɹɪˈhɛnd/

1

verb

Meaning 1

To perceive in the manner of Alfred North Whitehead's concept of prehension.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To lay hold of; to seize.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

Examples

  • c. 1615-1617, Thomas Middleton, The Widow Here they be all three now ; prehend 'em , officers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

take hold of; grab

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter
  • She clutched her purse
  • The mother seized her child by the arm
  • Birds of prey often seize small mammals

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: seize, clutch

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: take, get hold of

Narrower terms: nab, rack, claw, collar, nail, apprehend, arrest, pick up, cop, get, catch, capture, clasp, grip, grab, take hold of, snatch, snatch up, snap, clench, clinch, grapple

History

Etymology

From Latin prehendere. See prehensile.