like grim death

prepositional phrase

With savage determination or persistence.

“I hung onto the rope like grim death.”

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. simileWith savage determination or persistence.

    I hung onto the rope like grim death.

    1 more example

    I crouched low and held on like grim death to a little rail near me.

    1944 May and June, “When the Circle was Steam Operated”, in Railway Magazine, page 133

Origin

Association between grim and death arose at least by 1590. More information at Grim Reaper.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

like grim death. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20grim%20death

MLA

“like grim death.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20grim%20death. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “like grim death,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20grim%20death.

Source: like grim death on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.