tug
(verb) struggle in opposition; âShe tugged and wrestled with her conflictsâ
tug
(verb) pull hard; âThe prisoner tugged at the chainsâ; âThis movie tugs at the heart stringsâ
tug
(verb) pull or strain hard at; âEach oar was tugged by several menâ
tug
(verb) move by pulling hard; âThe horse finally tugged the cart out of the mudâ
lug, tote, tug
(verb) carry with difficulty; âYouâll have to lug this suitcaseâ
tug
(verb) tow (a vessel) with a tug; âThe tugboat tugged the freighter into the harborâ
tug, labor, labour, push, drive
(verb) strive and make an effort to reach a goal; âShe tugged for years to make a decent livingâ; âWe have to push a little to make the deadline!â; âShe is driving away at her doctoral thesisâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
tugging
present participle of tug
tugging (plural tuggings)
The action of something that tugs; a pull.
Source: Wiktionary
Tug, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tugged; p. pr. & vb. n. Tugging.] Etym: [OE. toggen; akin to OD. tocken to entice, G. zucken to jerk, draw, Icel. toga to draw, AS. téon, p. p. togen, to draw, G. ziehen, OHG. ziohan, Goth. tiuhan, L. ducere to lead, draw. Cf. Duke, Team, Tie, v. t., Touch, Tow, v. t., Tuck to press in, Toy a plaything.]
1. To pull or draw with great effort; to draw along with continued exertion; to haul along; to tow; as, to tug a loaded cart; to tug a ship into port. There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar. Roscommon.
2. To pull; to pluck. [Obs.] To ease the pain, His tugged cars suffered with a strain. Hudibras.
Tug, v. i.
1. To pull with great effort; to strain in labor; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream. He tugged, he shook, till down they came. Milton.
2. To labor; to strive; to struggle. England now is left To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth The unowed interest of proud-swelling state. Shak.
Tug, n.
1. A pull with the utmost effort, as in the athletic contest called tug of war; a supreme effort. At the tug he falls, Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls. Dryden.
2. A sort of vehicle, used for conveying timber and heavy articles. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
3. (Naut.)
Definition: A small, powerful steamboat used to tow vessels; -- called also steam tug, tugboat, and towboat.
4. A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.
5. (Mining.)
Definition: An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed. Tug iron, an iron hook or button to which a tug or trace may be attached, as on the shaft of a wagon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
22 February 2025
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., âthe father of the brideâ instead of âthe brideâs fatherâ
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
