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• nelson
  nelson

  noun

  a hold in which pressure is applied to the head, back of the neck, and one or both arms of the opponent.
• Nelson
  Nelson

  noun

  Viscount Horatio, 1758–1805, British admiral.

nelson

¹ American  

[nel-suhn] / ˈnɛl sən /

noun

Wrestling.

nelsons plural

1. a hold in which pressure is applied to the head, back of the neck, and one or both arms of the opponent.

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Nelson ² American  

[nel-suhn] / ˈnɛl sən /

noun

1. Viscount Horatio, 1758–1805, British admiral.

2. (John) Byron, 1911–2006, U.S. golf player.

3. Prince Rogers. Prince.

4. a river in central Canada, flowing northeast from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay. 400 miles (645 km) long.

5. a seaport on northern South Island, in New Zealand.

6. a male given name.

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Nelson ¹ British  

/ ˈnɛlsən /

noun

1. a town in NW England, in E Lancashire: textile industry. Pop: 28 998 (2001)

2. a port in New Zealand, on N South Island on Tasman Bay. Pop: 45 300 (2004 est)

3. a river in central Canada, in N central Manitoba, flowing from Lake Winnipeg northeast to Hudson Bay. Length: about 650 km (400 miles)

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Nelson ² British  

/ ˈnɛlsən /

noun

1. Horatio, Viscount Nelson. 1758–1805, British naval commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He became rear admiral in 1797 after the battle of Cape St Vincent and in 1798 almost destroyed the French fleet at the battle of the Nile. He was killed at Trafalgar (1805) after defeating Villeneuve's fleet

2. Willie. born 1933, US country singer and songwriter

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nelson ³ British  

/ ˈnɛlsən /

noun

1. any wrestling hold in which a wrestler places his arm or arms under his opponent's arm or arms from behind and exerts pressure with his palms on the back of his opponent's neck See full nelson half-nelson

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nelsons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nelson

First recorded in 1885–90; special use of name Nelson

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nelson Nelson

But if Horford and the Celtics can keep the Bucks’ lightning bolt in a full nelson, then Milwaukee’s once-promising season will be in significant peril.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2019

At Poolesville’s practice, Dorsey needed his neck, as he thrust his head inside the crook of a student’s arm and explained the business end of a quarter nelson.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2015

In the four years since Dino Gentili clamped a half nelson on Italy's China trade, he has pushed it from almost zero to $1,000,000-plus a month.

From Time Magazine Archive

The professor of philosophy couldn't break the half nelson, though he struggled on.

From Time Magazine Archive

I had a pretty good half nelson on him.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

Nelson, who grew up in rural Abbott, Texas, and has a home there, called attention to the destructive environmental effects—“water thieving,” he wrote—and the impact on farmland, including small family farmers’ livelihoods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"We import the certified mother plant from the breeder abroad," says Nelson Sequeira, the founder and director of Tara Farms Fresh, a licensed strawberry propagator.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Brandon Nelson of Calamos Investments considers the earnings-season beat-and-raise pattern in identifying companies primed for sustainable growth and improving profit margins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

“They think in a few years they will be at $1 billion in revenue,” making for “a lot of open runway,” Nelson said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

That he was gonna cook up a fancy supper for Mama with candles on the table and Willie Nelson on the radio and maybe she’d wear that red dress he loved so much.

From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor