tug
Americanverb (used with object)
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tugs,
present (3rd person singular)
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tugged,
past participle, past
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tugging
present participle
verb (used without object)
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tugs,
present (3rd person singular)
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tugged,
past participle, past
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tugging
present participle
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to pull with force or effort.
to tug at a stuck drawer.
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to strive hard; labor; toil.
noun
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tugs
plural
verb
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to pull or drag with sharp or powerful movements
the boy tugged at the door handle
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(tr) to tow (a vessel) by means of a tug
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(intr) to work; toil
noun
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a strong pull or jerk
he gave the rope a tug
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Also called: tugboat. towboat. a boat with a powerful engine, used for towing barges, ships, etc
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a hard struggle or fight
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a less common word for trace 2
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tugsimple
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tugssimple
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have tuggedperfect
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has tuggedperfect
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am tuggingprogressive
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are tuggingprogressive
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is tuggingprogressive
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have been tuggingperfect progressive
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has been tuggingperfect progressive
Past
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tuggedsimple
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had tuggedperfect
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was tuggingprogressive
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were tuggingprogressive
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had been tuggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tug
1175–1225; Middle English toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to Old English togian to tow 1
Explanation
To tug is to forcefully pull or drag something. You might need your sister's help to tug your knee-high boots off at the end of a long day. A child might tug at his parent's arm and a commuter might tug a rolling suitcase behind her as she enters a subway car. Something else that tugs is a tugboat — and tug is a common nickname for these boats that are designed to pull (or push) other vessels. Tug and tow share the same root word meaning "to pull" or "to lead."
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:
You tapped into something really universal with the strife between boomer parents and their millennial children — a real tug of war for power that’s happening in a lot of people’s lives right now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Their model describes a computational tug of war between two fundamentally different kinds of neural organization, both of which are established even before birth.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
Unsurprisingly, the replies tug at the heartstrings: “I’m so glad Dolly saved you; she was amazing, and you are too.”
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
“The risk is lower, but it’s never gone,” said Weldon, who once engaged in a tug of war with a marmot over her backpack on a hike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Why did she feel the crossing tug here...so far from home?
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
So it tugs at my heartstrings to read about New Yorkers having to surrender their cats and dogs to shelters out of financial distress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
"Touch wood, no. I've been very, very close. It's this that frightens them", he tugs his orange vest.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
You’re doing fine, but something tugs at you from deep within.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
His newest album, “Ya No Se Llevan Serenatas,” or “They No Longer Perform Serenades,” tugs at those delicate heartstrings.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025
Tank goes to sniff Elena’s soda can, but Nora tugs on his leash to pull him away.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
One decision tugged at another, and by the time I checked out, dinner had become rigatoni with chicken, spinach and sun-dried tomato sauce.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
After a goalless first half, the game sparked into life when Manchester United were awarded a penalty after Alex Jimenez needlessly tugged back Matheus Cunha inside the box.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
Coaxed and tugged by rangers, a blindfolded giraffe totters into the specialised vehicle that will transport it away from an increasingly hostile environment to a new home in Kenya's eastern Rift Valley.
From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025
Years of frugality tugged at my brain, but I plunked down her credit card for the better mattress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Mr. Wong tugged at the standing collar of his jacket.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
After tugging his short shot at history left of the hole, Herbert bent over in disappointment before composing himself to tap in.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
You can feel the vectored torque tugging at the wheel as it fights off understeer in a tight turn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
It refers to the way a rotating black hole twists the spacetime around it, tugging on nearby matter such as stars and causing their paths to wobble.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 18, 2025
The starchy pasta water, slowly whisked in, binds it all into a sauce that clings and stretches, tugging at each bite with just enough tension to remind you that this is pasta, not soup.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
He vanished and reappeared in front of her, tugging at her arms to get her out of the well.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
