tug

American  

[tuhg] / tʌg /

verb (used with object)

tugged, tugging

1. to pull at with force, vigor, or effort.

   Synonyms:

   wrench, jerk, yank

2. to move by pulling forcibly; drag; haul.

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

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verb (used without object)

tugged, tugging

1. to pull with force or effort.

   to tug at a stuck drawer.

2. to strive hard; labor; toil.

noun

1. an act or instance of tugging; pull; haul.

2. a strenuous contest between opposing forces, groups, or persons; struggle.

   the tug of young minds in a seminar.

3. tugboat.

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

5. (on a harness)

   1. trace.

   2. any of various supporting or pulling parts.

tug British  

/ tʌɡ /

verb

1. to pull or drag with sharp or powerful movements

   the boy tugged at the door handle

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

3. (intr) to work; toil

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noun

1. a strong pull or jerk

   he gave the rope a tug

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

3. a hard struggle or fight

4. a less common word for trace 2

Other Word Forms

• tugger noun
• tugless adjective
• untugged adjective

Etymology

Origin of tug

1175–1225; Middle English toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to Old English togian to tow ¹

Example Sentences

Attempts on Sunday to free the ship by using its own engines and a tug boat were unsuccessful, PNG authorities told the ABC.

From BBC

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

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

Best among them is the picture of a woman who tugs on a goat’s hooves, the animal largely out of frame, struggling against its weight as she grips a blade between her teeth.

From The Wall Street Journal

If there's a little tug, and the striker falls like he's been pulled right down, he should not be rewarded with a penalty.

From BBC