wrestling

American  

[res-ling] / ˈrɛs lɪŋ /

noun

1. a sport in which two opponents struggle hand to hand in order to pin or press each other's shoulders to the mat or ground, with the style, rules, and regulations differing widely in amateur and professional matches.

2. the act of a person who wrestles.

---

wrestling British  

/ ˈrɛslɪŋ /

noun

1. any of certain sports in which the contestants fight each other according to various rules governing holds and usually forbidding blows with the closed fist. The principal object is to overcome the opponent either by throwing or pinning him to the ground or by causing him to submit See freestyle Graeco-Roman sumo

---

Etymology

Origin of wrestling

before 1100; Middle English; Old English wrǣstlunge. See wrestle, -ing ¹

Explanation

Wrestling is a sport in which two athletes compete to see who can hold the other down, using specific moves. If you enjoy grappling with your brother, pinning each other to the couch, you might want to take up wrestling. Wrestling is one of the oldest sports, dating back to the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians. The original Greek Olympics included a brutal, violent form of wrestling. If you watch or participate in high school or college wrestling, you know that these days, it's a highly controlled, athletic sport. So-called professional wrestling, on the other hand, is mainly a form of entertainment, featuring gaudy costumes and elaborately choreographed moves.

Example Sentences

Maybe it’s simply the annual ritual of wrestling your air conditioner out of storage.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

Gleit's advice to young people wrestling with how AI tools like those she is promoting will affect their careers is "be curious".

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

There are more than 120 cases across the country of utilities wrestling with how to charge giant customers, according to utility filings aggregated by AI startup Halcyon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Investors are wrestling with the fact that the conflict hasn’t been brought to a tidy resolution, he said.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026

There was a struggle, like someone wrestling with something heavy, then a sharp intake of breath, and the smallest rabbit I’d ever seen hopped onto my bed.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Related Words

• judo
• karate