grasp at

grasp at (someone or something)

To attempt to hold onto or grip someone or something. I grasped at the dog, but she ran away from me. Liz and I grasped at the sides of the raft as we hit rough waters.
See also: grasp
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

grasp at someone or something

to try to seize someone or something. He grasped at the bar and held on tight. The beggar grasped at the pedestrian and lost his grip.
See also: grasp
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

grasp at

v.
To have a hold on something or take hold of something with the hands: Afraid of the steep drop-off, I grasped at the railing.
See also: grasp
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • grasp at (someone or something)
  • out of reach
  • grasp (someone or something) by (something)
  • grasp by
  • bring (someone or something) up against (someone or something)
  • grab on to (someone or something)
  • grab on
  • lose (one's) grip on (someone or something)
  • lose one’s grip
  • a grip on (something)
References in periodicals archive
"The Generative Grasping Convolutional Neural Network approach works by predicting the quality and pose of a two-fingered grasp at every pixel.
Closing The Loop for Robotic Grasping
2007 issue, an article on page eight [Speaking Of: New Orleans Flood Litigation] made a reference to Judge Duval grasping at straws as to the meaning of the word "flood." Misuse of words by those in the insurance business will continue to cause a judge and insureds to grasp at straws.
A flood of definitions
Apparently, this was the first attempt to break up text into phrases that contained a complete idea that people could grasp at a glance.
The more things change...