verb / noun
grope
To touch someone sexually without that person's consent.
She reports a passenger who gropes her on the train.
Etymology
The older verb meant to feel or search with the hands. Its sexual sense specializes that touching to intrusive, unwanted contact with another person’s body.
More examples
- The club bans a customer for groping a server.
- He tells police that a stranger groped him.
- She reports the grope to the club's security staff.
Forms
grope · gropes · groped · groping
groper noun — Someone who sexually touches others without consent.
Similar words
- molest
- Often describes broader sexual abuse, not just unwanted touching.
- fondle
- Describes sexual caressing but does not itself establish consent.