wrestling
Americannoun
-
a sport in which two opponents struggle hand to hand in order to pin or press each other's shoulders to the mat or ground, with the style, rules, and regulations differing widely in amateur and professional matches.
-
the act of a person who wrestles.
noun
Etymology
Origin of wrestling
before 1100; Middle English; Old English wrǣstlunge. See wrestle, -ing 1
Explanation
Wrestling is a sport in which two athletes compete to see who can hold the other down, using specific moves. If you enjoy grappling with your brother, pinning each other to the couch, you might want to take up wrestling. Wrestling is one of the oldest sports, dating back to the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians. The original Greek Olympics included a brutal, violent form of wrestling. If you watch or participate in high school or college wrestling, you know that these days, it's a highly controlled, athletic sport. So-called professional wrestling, on the other hand, is mainly a form of entertainment, featuring gaudy costumes and elaborately choreographed moves.
Vocabulary lists containing wrestling
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For the better part of a year, I spent myriad sleepless nights wrestling with my conscience.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
The wrestling coach at the American school in Tokyo, Ernst’s glamorous courtesan Chizuko, and many of the characters are composites.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Investors are wrestling with the fact that the conflict hasn’t been brought to a tidy resolution, he said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
Followers of the Welkers tune in for a taste of farming in Big Sky Country: sweeping drone shots of golden grain fields and brothers wrestling with monster tractor tires.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
Turning, he saw that it had gotten into a fierce wrestling match with a dirty sock.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
