wrestling
Americannoun
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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.
-
the act of a person who wrestles.
noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing wrestling
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.
Turner also saw professional wrestling as part of his sports portfolio, at one point trying to pit his World Championship Wrestling program against competitor Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire, then called the World Wrestling Federation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
"Wrestling is so theatrical, you've got your heroes and villains, its all about storytelling and everyone is playing a heightened version of themselves in the ring," she said.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The Matpac Wrestling Club, a nonprofit youth program in North Dakota, has increased its revenue 30-fold since 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Newly rich from e-tab cash, the Matpac Wrestling Club purchased an 18,000-square-foot facility and, in 2024, distributed nearly $1 million in grants to other organizations, according to Internal Revenue Service nonprofit filings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Wrestling was what my dad had done, so you bet it was good enough for me too.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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.
