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
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have tussledperfect
-
has tussledperfect
-
am tusslingprogressive
-
are tusslingprogressive
-
is tusslingprogressive
-
have been tusslingperfect progressive
-
has been tusslingperfect progressive
Past
-
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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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:
Will Scottish Premiership return to two-team title tussle?
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In light of the legal tussle with California, some have encouraged David Ellison to ditch Paramount’s Hollywood headquarters in favor of Tennessee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The other piece of this is that for a while, there was this tussle between lower courts and the Supreme Court.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
OpenAI won its legal tussle with its former backer Elon Musk on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
He knew by heart certain passages from her letters, he had revisited their tussle with the vase by the fountain, he remembered the warmth from her arm at the dinner when the twins went missing.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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
It was an incredible conclusion to an engrossing encounter, one that has repeatedly delivered drama in Guardiola's past tussles with Jurgen Klopp and now Arne Slot.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 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
Gen. Rob Bonta has acted as the face of California’s legal battles against the federal government while Newsom has generally maintained a distance from the back-and-forth court tussles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Campion and Chervil were kept busy taking out endurance patrols, and tussles and training fights were organized at morning silflay.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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
Between 1924 and 1927 Sir Malcolm and his friend and rival, Wrexham engineer John Godfrey Parry Thomas tussled for top spot.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 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
An idle wind tussled the leaves in the trees and wafted a patch of smoke like a low cloud toward me.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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
Trump has spent decades tussling with residents and politicians over development projects that changed city skylines from New York to Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
But he proves a skilled physical comic, tussling with his boots or recoiling from a kick in the shins from Lucky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 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.
