tug

[tuhg]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tug ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), tugged, tug·ging.

to pull at with force, vigor, or effort.

to move by pulling forcibly; drag; haul.

to tow (a vessel) by means of a tugboat.

verb (used without object), tugged, tug·ging.

to pull with force or effort: to tug at a stuck drawer.

to strive hard; labor; toil.

noun

an act or instance of tugging; pull; haul.

a strenuous contest between opposing forces, groups, or persons; struggle: the tug of young minds in a seminar.

tugboat.

that by which something is tugged, as a rope or chain.

(on a harness)

trace²(def 1).
any of various supporting or pulling parts.

Origin of tug

1175–1225; Middle English toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to Old English togian to tow¹

Related formstug·ger, nountug·less, adjectiveun·tugged, adjective

Synonyms for tug

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tug ON THESAURUS.COM

1. yank, jerk, wrench.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tug

draw, jerk, tow, traction, strain, drag, haul, wrench, lug, toil, heave, yank

Examples from the Web for tug

Contemporary Examples of tug

These men and women will no doubt cause a tug a war in time.
Up To Speed: The Cuba Embargo
Nina Strochlic
December 18, 2014
The White House has been mediating the tug of war between the CIA and the committee over the redaction process.
You're About to See What Obama Calls 'Torture'
Josh Rogin, Eli Lake
August 1, 2014
But since then it has been subject to a tug of war with the CIA.
Ex-CIA Top Lawyer: Release the ‘Black Site’ Report
Eli Lake
March 14, 2014
After this Euro-Russian tug of war, the sparks ignited in Kiev and Moscow.
Cut the Baloney on Ukraine
Leslie H. Gelb
March 9, 2014
We must win the tug of war for these men, even if the battle is with the United Nations.
Italian Pirate-Fighting Marines On Trial
Barbie Latza Nadeau
February 14, 2014

Historical Examples of tug

She swayed forward bodily to his tug, and nearly went off the chair.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
And many a tug did this lordly fear cost us both, God knows!
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Duncan removed one hand from the pocket the better to tug at his moustache.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
Purplish shadows had already begun to dim the tug and dock and ocean.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Do you mean you object to sailing this tug on account of some imaginary thing?
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling

British Dictionary definitions for tug

tug

verb tugs, tugging or tugged

(when intr, sometimes foll by at) to pull or drag with sharp or powerful movementsthe boy tugged at the door handle

(tr) to tow (a vessel) by means of a tug

(intr) to work; toil

noun

a strong pull or jerkhe gave the rope a tug

Also called: tugboat, towboat a boat with a powerful engine, used for towing barges, ships, etc

a hard struggle or fight

a less common word for trace 2 (def. 1)

Derived Formstugger, noun

Word Origin for tug

C13: related to Old English tēon to tow 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tug

early 13c., from weak grade of Old English teohan "to pull, drag," from Proto-Germanic *teukh- "pull," from PIE *deuk- "to pull, to lead" (see duke (n.)). Related to tow (v.). Related: Tugged; tugging.

c.1500, from tug (v.). Meaning "small steamer used to tow other vessels" is recorded from 1817. Phrase tug of war (1670s) was originally figurative, "the decisive contest, the real struggle."