wrestle

American  

[res-uhl] / ˈrɛs əl /

verb (used without object)

• wrestles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wrestled,
  past participle,  past
• wrestling
  present participle

1. to engage in wrestling.

2. to contend, as in a struggle for mastery; grapple.

   to wrestle with one's conscience.

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verb (used with object)

• wrestles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wrestled,
  past participle,  past
• wrestling
  present participle

1. to contend with in wrestling.

2. to force by or as if by wrestling.

3. to throw (a calf or other animal) for branding.

noun

• wrestles
  plural

1. an act of or a bout at wrestling.

2. a struggle.

wrestle British  

/ ˈrɛsəl /

verb

1. to fight (another person) by holding, throwing, etc, without punching with the closed fist

2. (intr) to participate in wrestling

3. to fight with (a person, problem, or thing)

   wrestle with one's conscience

4. (tr) to move laboriously, as with wrestling movements

5. (tr) to throw (an animal) for branding

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noun

1. the act of wrestling

2. a struggle or tussle

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wrestler
  noun
• outwrestle
  verb (used with object)
• unwrestled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wrestles
  plural

Participles

• wrestling
  present
• wrestled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wrestle
  simple
• wrestles
  simple
• have wrestled
  perfect
• has wrestled
  perfect
• am wrestling
  progressive
• are wrestling
  progressive
• is wrestling
  progressive
• have been wrestling
  perfect progressive
• has been wrestling
  perfect progressive

Past

• wrestled
  simple
• had wrestled
  perfect
• was wrestling
  progressive
• were wrestling
  progressive
• had been wrestling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wrestle
  simple
• will have wrestled
  perfect
• will be wrestling
  progressive
• will have been wrestling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of wrestle

before 1100; Middle English wrestlen, wrastlen (v.), Old English *wrǣstlian (compare Old English wrǣstlere wrestler), frequentative of wrǣstan to wrest; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German worstelen

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Explanation

If you decide to wrestle on a team in high school, you'll be grabbing your opponent and trying to fling him to the ground while he tries to do the same to you. You might want to consider the ping pong team instead. Athletes wrestle wearing uniforms and helmets, and they follow very specific rules. Others wrestle more spontaneously — a bar bouncer might have to wrestle with an unruly patron, or a parent might need to wrestle a squirming toddler into her car seat. Yet another way to wrestle is with an idea or a problem, a kind of mental struggle. The Old English root, wræstan, means "to wrest," or to yank something out of another person's grasp.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wrestle wrestles wrestled wrestling

Godzilla of con artists as ‘The Rehearsal’s’ Nathan Fielder tries to wrestle the truth out of Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

If you wrestle for a living, you’re faced with significant pressure to perform for as long as you can, through as many injuries as you can.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

All you can do is wrestle back to the light.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Shelton double-faulted on break point in the first game of the match, handing over the type of initiative that opponents often struggle to wrestle back from Zverev.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Maddie cried, and managed to wrestle the umbrella inside.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

The film also wrestles with the idea of Everest as a conduit to a higher power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The aspect that he says he wrestles with is how much higher rates would harm the economy.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

For Episode 6, Deming made great use of a small lab set, where Reilly wrestles with emotional demons after being drugged.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

In one scene in Glenrothan, he rugby tackles Alan Cumming's Donal to the ground and wrestles him.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

Since he looks like he wrestles alligators for fun, it’s very effective.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

The chain—which just wrestled back the No. 2 spot for U.S. burger chain sales from Wendy’s—said U.S. same-store sales grew 8.4% in the third quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

In its eight episodes, “Lanterns” wrestled with an array of concepts some viewers loved and others … well, you know, fanboys and the internet.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

He’d wrestled for the Indians in addition to his playing football.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

People who have wrestled with hard questions and practiced working them out by hand will stand out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

How I wrestled with death on the edge of the slick winter pavement.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

And if the net is widened to include powerlifting and pro wrestling, Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota get a nod.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Across the album's 12 tracks, he frequently sounds adrift, fretting about the state of the world and wrestling with "monsters in your head that you can't turn off".

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Next, the roles were reversed: Senegalese wrestlers put on traditional burlap shorts to try their hand at Swiss wrestling, with the Swiss avenging their earlier defeat.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Others are wrestling with uncertainty about their place in America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

Over time my stories got more and more ridiculous: alligator wrestling in the Everglades in Florida, freak roller coaster accidents, skydiving trips gone wrong.

From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling

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Related Words

• contend
• grapple
• scuffle
• strive
• tangle
• tussle

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