tussle

[tuhs-uh l]

See more synonyms for tussle on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), tus·sled, tus·sling.

to struggle or fight roughly or vigorously; wrestle; scuffle.

noun

a rough physical contest or struggle; scuffle.
any vigorous or determined struggle, conflict, etc.: I had quite a tussle with that chemistry exam.

Origin of tussle

1425–75; late Middle English (north and Scots) tusillen, derivative (see -le) of tusen to touse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for tussle

brawl, scuffle, strife, fray, skirmish, free-for-all, tangle, wrestle, roughhouse, clash, combat, contest, undertaking, scrap, fight, rumble, jam, hassle, encounter, grind

Examples from the Web for tussle

Contemporary Examples of tussle

But first, there's a tussle with the senior senator from Arizona to take care of.
Rand Paul Eats Up Hoax That John McCain Met With ISIS
Olivia Nuzzi
September 17, 2014
They would rustle and tussle it for like three minutes and that was it!
OITNB’s New Villain Vee, Played By Lorraine Toussaint, Speaks for the First Time
Kevin Fallon
June 13, 2014
Without his high-school wrestling experience, she might have won the tussle.
The Moment Kurt Cobain Met Courtney Love
Charles R. Cross
April 5, 2014
Both Parks and Brechneff tussle with the idea of being almost insiders.
Insider Outsiders: How to Write About Greece and Italy
Alexander Aciman
July 6, 2013
In the film, we watch as Gollum gets in a tussle with his next meal, an unsuspecting goblin.
‘The Hobbit’: 19 Changes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Novel to Peter Jackson’s Movie
Anna Klassen
December 14, 2012

Historical Examples of tussle

Jim-the-ladder has been a prize-fighter in his day, and there was a tussle.
A Son of Hagar
Sir Hall Caine
Just a bit of a tussle now and then to keep you from dropping off.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Lydia didn't want him to tussle, but she did want him at the top.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
I came upon it from a tussle with the sea—and I was young—and I saw it looking at me.
Youth
Joseph Conrad
Then, perhaps, there might be a tussle between them as to which should have his own way,—or hers.
Kept in the Dark
Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for tussle

tussle

verb

(intr) to fight or wrestle in a vigorous way; struggle

noun

a vigorous fight; scuffle; struggle

Word Origin for tussle

C15: related to Old High German zūsen; see tousle

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 tussle

late 15c., Scottish and northern English variant of touselen (see tousle). Related: Tussled; tussling. The noun is first recorded 1620s but rare before 19c.