Yes, grips is a Scrabble word!

Verb

1. Hold fast or firmly

2. To grip or seize, as in a wrestling match

3. To render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe

Noun

1. The act of grasping

2. The appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it

3. A portable rectangular container for carrying clothes

4. The friction between a body and the surface on which it moves (as between an automobile tire and the road)

5. Worker who moves the camera around while a film or television show is being made

6. An intellectual hold or understanding

7. A flat wire hairpin whose prongs press tightly together; used to hold bobbed hair in place