tussle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
tussles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tussled,
past participle, past
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tussling
present participle
noun
-
a rough physical contest or struggle; scuffle.
-
any vigorous or determined struggle, conflict, etc..
I had quite a tussle with that chemistry exam.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tusslesimple
-
tusslessimple
-
have tussledperfect
-
has tussledperfect
-
am tusslingprogressive
-
are tusslingprogressive
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is tusslingprogressive
-
have been tusslingperfect progressive
-
has been tusslingperfect progressive
Past
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tussledsimple
-
had tussledperfect
-
was tusslingprogressive
-
were tusslingprogressive
-
had been tusslingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tussle
1425–75; late Middle English (north and Scots ) tusillen, derivative ( see -le) of tusen to touse
Explanation
A tussle is a rowdy fight. If the rambunctious kids you're babysitting get into a tussle, you may have to separate them for a while and calm them down. Though a tussle is often a physical fight, it's rarely a serious one. Two wrestling dogs, a couple of scuffling teenagers — these are examples of tussles. The word tussle is Scottish, a variant of touselen, which is related to tousle, or "dishevel or muss," which you might do to a little kid's hair. The root of both is the Old English tousen, "handle or push about roughly."
Vocabulary lists containing tussle
Freak the Mighty
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Hoot
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Past Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart have been shortlisted for the prestigious literary award again, after a selection process that the judges described as "a tussle".
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The announcement kicked off a chaotic tussle over the funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Emersonn: Tried use his size to pin Maguire and Martinez back and relished the physical tussle with the England man.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The settlement announced Thursday brings to a close a two-year legal tussle between the family of Jason Maccani and the city’s lawyers over his 2024 death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
I went to dinner that night all set for a tussle.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
The Coastal Commission signed off on the project a few years ago, after tussles over low-cost housing provisions during the course of erecting yet another luxury hotel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Bessent has become one of Trump’s most trusted advisers after previous tussles with other Trump allies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Direct control of the Bronx building, a Success Academy first, means no political tussles over repairs or storage space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Before Robby and Al-Hashimi engage in any real ideological tussles, though, she commits the cardinal sin of suggesting they change the trauma center’s nickname to something else.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2026
When I was young these tussles usually ended with Mother screaming over a broken lamp or vase, but as I got older there were fewer things left to break.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
In 2025, the US president went as far as visiting the Fed's under-renovation headquarters, where he verbally tussled with Powell as the two toured the site.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
In 2017, it tussled about management succession with activist investor Christopher Hohn’s TCI Fund Management.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Van der Poel re-joined the peloton within just 10km of his crash and tussled with Pogacar through the hills.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
The car maker has previously tussled with California workplace safety regulators over conditions at the Fremont plant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
I tussled with her as she tried to calm me down, to move me away from the brazier, lest in my frenzy I should tip it over.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
To wrap the Pont Neuf, he spent $2.5 million of his own money and some 10 years tussling with bureaucrats and politicians before securing the approval of President Francois Mitterrand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
His attentiveness will be closely watched in the Maduro case, as tussling between the defense and prosecution has already threatened to draw out proceedings.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
Defenders are grappling with attackers, and attackers are tussling with defenders.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
In “The Climb,” there is a moment where Covino and Marvin briefly wrestle, a ludicrous sight of two grown men tussling on the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025
I thinks all your tussling done bust one n’em scabs open.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
