wrestle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to engage in wrestling.
-
to contend, as in a struggle for mastery; grapple.
to wrestle with one's conscience.
verb (used with object)
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to contend with in wrestling.
-
to force by or as if by wrestling.
-
to throw (a calf or other animal) for branding.
noun
-
an act of or a bout at wrestling.
-
a struggle.
verb
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to fight (another person) by holding, throwing, etc, without punching with the closed fist
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(intr) to participate in wrestling
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to fight with (a person, problem, or thing)
wrestle with one's conscience
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(tr) to move laboriously, as with wrestling movements
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(tr) to throw (an animal) for branding
noun
-
the act of wrestling
-
a struggle or tussle
Other Word Forms
- outwrestle verb (used with object)
- unwrestled adjective
- wrestler noun
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
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.
He said ministers "must wrestle with complex issues and make difficult decisions which balance and reflect the interests and rights of individuals".
From BBC
Still, investors and regulators will have to wrestle with what incidents mean for the technology, which is rapidly spreading across the country.
From Barron's
Still, investors and regulators will have to wrestle with what incidents mean for the technology, which is rapidly spreading across the country.
From Barron's
Still, investors and regulators will have to wrestle with what incidents mean for the technology, which is rapidly spreading across the country.
From Barron's
She reset to hold, then wrestled back the break, allowing herself the merest of smiles.
From Barron's
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.
