tussle
Americanverb (used without object)
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tussles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tussled,
past participle, past
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tussling
present participle
noun
-
a rough physical contest or struggle; scuffle.
-
any vigorous or determined struggle, conflict, etc..
I had quite a tussle with that chemistry exam.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tusslesimple
-
tusslessimple
-
have tussledperfect
-
has tussledperfect
-
am tusslingprogressive
-
are tusslingprogressive
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is tusslingprogressive
-
have been tusslingperfect progressive
-
has been tusslingperfect progressive
Past
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tussledsimple
-
had tussledperfect
-
was tusslingprogressive
-
were tusslingprogressive
-
had been tusslingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tussle
1425–75; late Middle English (north and Scots ) tusillen, derivative ( see -le) of tusen to touse
Explanation
A tussle is a rowdy fight. If the rambunctious kids you're babysitting get into a tussle, you may have to separate them for a while and calm them down. Though a tussle is often a physical fight, it's rarely a serious one. Two wrestling dogs, a couple of scuffling teenagers — these are examples of tussles. The word tussle is Scottish, a variant of touselen, which is related to tousle, or "dishevel or muss," which you might do to a little kid's hair. The root of both is the Old English tousen, "handle or push about roughly."
Vocabulary lists containing tussle
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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:
Having been subjected to multiple FCC probes of ABC’s programming, the corporation has pushed back in court against Carr, in what has already amounted to a drawn-out and expensive legal tussle.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
Firms now regularly pay first-year associates salaries of $250,000, up from $190,000 in 2018, in the tussle for the best talent straight out of law school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The announcement kicked off a chaotic tussle over the funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The settlement announced Thursday brings to a close a two-year legal tussle between the family of Jason Maccani and the city’s lawyers over his 2024 death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
There was a tussle, and Kanue was briefly suspended.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and campaign manager for Bloomberg’s third-term mayoral run, said he admired Mastro’s moxie, even though the lawyer had several legal tussles with his former boss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Coastal Commission signed off on the project a few years ago, after tussles over low-cost housing provisions during the course of erecting yet another luxury hotel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Bessent has become one of Trump’s most trusted advisers after previous tussles with other Trump allies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Before Robby and Al-Hashimi engage in any real ideological tussles, though, she commits the cardinal sin of suggesting they change the trauma center’s nickname to something else.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2026
Campion and Chervil were kept busy taking out endurance patrols, and tussles and training fights were organized at morning silflay.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
In 2025, the US president went as far as visiting the Fed's under-renovation headquarters, where he verbally tussled with Powell as the two toured the site.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Cuomo and Mamdani tussled when they were asked how they would stop the growing number of New York City school students who are homeless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Van der Poel re-joined the peloton within just 10km of his crash and tussled with Pogacar through the hills.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
The car maker has previously tussled with California workplace safety regulators over conditions at the Fremont plant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
Hideo is leaning over a table, his head down in concentration, his dark hair tussled.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
His attentiveness will be closely watched in the Maduro case, as tussling between the defense and prosecution has already threatened to draw out proceedings.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
Chip makers and cloud-computing purveyors have described the demand for their offerings as effectively limitless, with heads of the AI model companies bemoaning capacity constraints and tussling over chip allotments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
In “The Climb,” there is a moment where Covino and Marvin briefly wrestle, a ludicrous sight of two grown men tussling on the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
"We fought each other, wrestling and tussling," she said.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
I thinks all your tussling done bust one n’em scabs open.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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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.
