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.

Nearby words

Origin of tug

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

SYNONYMS FOR tug

1. yank, jerk, wrench.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tug ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Examples from the Web for tugged

As I was coming out, my sister [Valerie] tugged on me and said, ‘That’s the boy who kicked me off my bicycle.
Joe Biden: ‘I’ll Kill Your Son’|Olivia Nuzzi|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ted tugged at the brass buttons of her red, wool-crepe dress.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The handcuffs required her to reach with both hands as she tugged up the left leg of her stockings.
‘Bomb Mom’ Morgan Gliedman Arraigned in Manhattan Court|Michael Daly|January 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then the girl reached into her mountain trousers and tugged at her clothing.
Ralph Nader, Novelist|Samuel P. Jacobs|September 12, 2009|DAILY BEAST

He tugged at his bonds, but they were fastened so securely that he could not start them.
Wyoming|Edward Sylvester Ellis
But they tugged away at the anchor windlass till the flukes let go the bottom and the anchor was halfway up.
The Last of the Flatboats|George Cary Eggleston
There he turned on his back, squirmed and rocked on the crocuses, and tugged at the unaccustomed collar.
Greyfriars Bobby|Eleanor Atkinson
She tugged at her brother's coat-tails in the very nick of time, with the result that his whole body once again hove into view.
Werwolves|Elliott O'Donnell
As the sheep were stripped, they were tugged to the fire and branded from the bubbling tar with the smet mark of the Ritsons.
A Son of Hagar|Sir Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for tugged

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 tugged

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.

tug

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."

tug

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

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

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tug

Examples from the Web for tugged

tug

verb tugs, tugging or tugged

noun

Word Origin for tug

tug

tug