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tug

[ tuhg ]
/ tʌg /
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See synonyms for: tug / tugged / tugging on Thesaurus.com

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

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tug

tugger, nountugless, adjectiveun·tugged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tug in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tug

tug
/ (tʌɡ) /

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

Derived forms of tug

tugger, 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
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