wrangle
Americanverb (used without object)
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wrangles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrangled,
past participle, past
-
wrangling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
wrangles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrangled,
past participle, past
-
wrangling
present participle
-
to argue or dispute.
-
to tend or round up (cattle, horses, or other livestock).
-
to obtain, often by contrivance or scheming; wangle.
He wrangled a job through a friend.
noun
verb
-
(intr) to argue, esp noisily or angrily
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(tr) to encourage, persuade, or obtain by argument
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(tr) to herd (cattle or horses)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wranglesimple
-
wranglessimple
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have wrangledperfect
-
has wrangledperfect
-
am wranglingprogressive
-
are wranglingprogressive
-
is wranglingprogressive
-
have been wranglingperfect progressive
-
has been wranglingperfect progressive
Past
-
wrangledsimple
-
had wrangledperfect
-
was wranglingprogressive
-
were wranglingprogressive
-
had been wranglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrangle
1350–1400; Middle English, apparently < Low German wrangeln, frequentative of wrangen to struggle, make an uproar; akin to wring
Explanation
To wrangle is to take part in a long, angry, intense argument, especially over an issue with lots of details. You can also wrangle, or herd, a bunch of cows. Politicians and lawyers frequently wrangle, no cows necessary. Wrangle in its current meaning comes from the nineteenth century American term wrangling, the art of herding cattle, probably with the idea in mind that rounding up those tiresome details is a bit like rounding up all those tiresome cattle; they tend to go flying off in all directions. From wrangler in the cowboy sense we get Wrangler jeans, though not all wranglers wear Wranglers of course.
Vocabulary lists containing wrangle
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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:
The former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is still in a wrangle with the taxman.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
He could either exploit the armada as leverage to wrangle a diplomatic deal or pull the trigger.
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2026
For politicians, what’s “in” at any moment is important to wrangle votes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
As diplomats wrangle for a breakthrough in what has been Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, Russia has continued to press forward with its assault, bombarding Ukraine daily.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
“It helps you wrangle large fish,” said Lester.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Shein’s valuation has declined sharply since hitting $100 billion in 2022, as it wrangles with increasing competition from rivals such as Temu and persistent uncertainty from escalating trade restrictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The group’s motto says it all: “As the cowboy wrangles cattle, we wrangle consciousness.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the government’s wording was so vague it will lead to legal wrangles and most people “do not know what the meaning of a durable relationship is.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2024
Somehow he wrangles a group of five surly boys until one of their rich fathers comes through and whisks away four.
From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2024
Frau Büchner wrangles impossible harmonies from our voices.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Yet as I wrangled them into my closet, something kept nagging at me like a pebble in an insole: Bernie Sanders’ eye-rolling dismissal outside the Senate elevator.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
Inside the courtroom, Gonzalez Rogers showed a mix of humor and toughness as she wrangled battalions of dark-suited attorneys lined up against each other in the wood-paneled room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
“She did,” he called from a distance, as he wrangled one of their two dogs, Chicken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Some hunted for drinks, others were wrangled by publicists to interviews and photo shoots with eager journalists.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2025
Together, we wrangled the cot onto its casters.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
After weeks of behind-the-scenes wrangling, the Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to approve two settlement agreements with Charter that allowed the merger to move forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The European Union on Friday unveils reforms of its carbon market, after fierce wrangling between countries, industry and activists over the pace of the bloc's climate push.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
We’re wrangling a lot of very needy creative egos.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Last month the Commerce Department blocked Anthropic from selling its state-of-the-art models abroad owing to national security concerns and it took weeks of wrangling to resolve this impasse.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
After some wrangling, the judge said he would allow Ms. Gievers to write each child a letter, which the department had to deliver by a certain date.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
