tug of war

American  

noun

1. an athletic contest between two teams at opposite ends of a rope, each team trying to drag the other over a line.

2. a hard-fought, critical struggle for supremacy.

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tug-of-war British  

noun

1. a contest in which two people or teams pull opposite ends of a rope in an attempt to drag the opposition over a central line

2. any hard struggle, esp between two equally matched factions

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tug of war Idioms  

1. A struggle for supremacy, as in There's a constant political tug of war between those who favor giving more power to the states and those who want a strong federal government. Although there is an athletic contest also so named, in which participants holding either end of a rope try to pull each other across a dividing line, the present usage, first recorded in 1677, predates it by about two centuries. The noun tug itself means “a strenuous contest between two sides,” and war refers to fighting, either physical or figurative.

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Etymology

Origin of tug of war

1670–80 tug of war for def. 2; 1875–80 tug of war for def. 1

Example Sentences

And, along the way, influence a geopolitical tug of war involving a huge U.S.-U.K. military base.

From The Wall Street Journal

The media giant is in the middle of a takeover tug of war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix, and it’s anyone’s guess who will win.

From Barron's

The media giant is in the middle of a takeover tug of war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix, and it’s anyone’s guess who will win.

From Barron's

The opening set was a tug of war before Sakkari wrestled the momentum her way, winning the last 11 points to grab a one-set lead in 48 minutes.

From Barron's

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday after a wild day on Wall Street in which metals surged, the price of oil spiked and a tug of war erupted in equities.

From MarketWatch