wrestle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wrestles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrestled,
past participle, past
-
wrestling
present participle
-
to engage in wrestling.
-
to contend, as in a struggle for mastery; grapple.
to wrestle with one's conscience.
verb (used with object)
-
wrestles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrestled,
past participle, past
-
wrestling
present participle
-
to contend with in wrestling.
-
to force by or as if by wrestling.
-
to throw (a calf or other animal) for branding.
noun
-
wrestles
plural
-
an act of or a bout at wrestling.
-
a struggle.
verb
-
to fight (another person) by holding, throwing, etc, without punching with the closed fist
-
(intr) to participate in wrestling
-
to fight with (a person, problem, or thing)
wrestle with one's conscience
-
(tr) to move laboriously, as with wrestling movements
-
(tr) to throw (an animal) for branding
noun
-
the act of wrestling
-
a struggle or tussle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wrestlesimple
-
wrestlessimple
-
have wrestledperfect
-
has wrestledperfect
-
am wrestlingprogressive
-
are wrestlingprogressive
-
is wrestlingprogressive
-
have been wrestlingperfect progressive
-
has been wrestlingperfect progressive
Past
-
wrestledsimple
-
had wrestledperfect
-
was wrestlingprogressive
-
were wrestlingprogressive
-
had been wrestlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrestle
before 1100; Middle English wrestlen, wrastlen (v.), Old English *wrǣstlian (compare Old English wrǣstlere wrestler), frequentative of wrǣstan to wrest; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German worstelen
Explanation
If you decide to wrestle on a team in high school, you'll be grabbing your opponent and trying to fling him to the ground while he tries to do the same to you. You might want to consider the ping pong team instead. Athletes wrestle wearing uniforms and helmets, and they follow very specific rules. Others wrestle more spontaneously — a bar bouncer might have to wrestle with an unruly patron, or a parent might need to wrestle a squirming toddler into her car seat. Yet another way to wrestle is with an idea or a problem, a kind of mental struggle. The Old English root, wræstan, means "to wrest," or to yank something out of another person's grasp.
Vocabulary lists containing wrestle
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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.
See Examples For:
As Ivan and Nina wrestle with their own emotional truths, which range from her mother Nora’s departure from their lives to Ivan’s clumsy recitations of Nina’s childhood antics, something alarming is afoot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
If you wrestle for a living, you’re faced with significant pressure to perform for as long as you can, through as many injuries as you can.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
All you can do is wrestle back to the light.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Even as the White House embraces AI as an engine of “human flourishing,” the administration continues to wrestle with the potential spiritual consequences of advanced machines that approximate human consciousness and often exceed human capabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
“I’d wrestle with him,” she said, nodding at Major.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
His comments come as Scottish football wrestles with a growing concern over the number of homegrown players who are making it to the top of the game.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The aspect that he says he wrestles with is how much higher rates would harm the economy.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
For Episode 6, Deming made great use of a small lab set, where Reilly wrestles with emotional demons after being drugged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
After decades as Europe’s manufacturing engine, the country is mired in its longest stretch of stagnation since World War II as it wrestles with competition from China and a slump in demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Lou Ann wrestles a large sleeping mat out of the linen closet and flips on a light in a room crowded with cribs and small sleeping mats.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Treuer has wrestled with these legacies for much of his career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Born Benjamin Satterley in a blue-collar community in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, he first came to national attention stateside in the WWE, where he wrestled under the decidedly English name Neville.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman has also wrestled with a takeover offer from crosstown rival Sazerac, which it has rebuffed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
He also wrestled in the US before signing for All Elite Wrestling - or AEW - which is what brings him back home to the UK this weekend.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
We wrestled the wagon through the side door of the funeral home and made our way down the cool, quiet hallway.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Next, the roles were reversed: Senegalese wrestlers put on traditional burlap shorts to try their hand at Swiss wrestling, with the Swiss avenging their earlier defeat.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Wall Street isn’t alone in wrestling with a puzzle.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Shows like Zack Zucker’s Stamptown, Adam Ray’s take on Dr. Phil, and the character-driven wrestling open mic of “NAW or Never: Smack Talk Open Mic” are making their way into mainstream culture through Netflix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Congressional and state lawmakers are wrestling with how to respond to an industry that presents such extreme promise and peril.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Her face twists then, like the last secret is wrestling its way out of her.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
