as in pull
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force
gave the man in front a tug on his shirtsleeve as a sign that he was supposed to step aside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
she's tugged all her life to get to where she is now in the business world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of tug
Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 June 2025
Collateral damage in a tug of war between Florida and federal immigration authorities, the girl was about to be tossed out of foster care.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 11 June 2025
Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Some brushes can tug, cause static, or pull too harshly at delicate strands, leading to unnecessary damage over time.
—Daisy Maldonado, Glamour, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
Ripe tomatoes should easily come off the plant with a gentle tug.
—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 June 2025
Collateral damage in a tug of war between Florida and federal immigration authorities, the girl was about to be tossed out of foster care.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 11 June 2025
Verb
However, tugging at people’s heart strings will only get a nonprofit so far.
—Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Some brushes can tug, cause static, or pull too harshly at delicate strands, leading to unnecessary damage over time.
—Daisy Maldonado, Glamour, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
-
These hanging pieces resist the pull of gravity and tradition alike.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
Two atoms of oxygen bound together as oxygen gas have a pull similarly as strong as a single atom on its own.—
Laura Poppick,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Just think about where your luggage has been; it gets hauled through airports, goes for a ride on a conveyor belt, rolls across dusty parking lots, is stashed into overhead bins, and is often handled by multiple people with no guarantee of clean hands.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 June 2025
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Those were frugal, pragmatic solutions; every stone that could be reused was another one that didn’t have to be quarried, cut, hauled, and placed.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Make Healthy Food More Accessible Millions of families struggle to afford healthy food.—
Mike Levin,
Oc Register,
10 July 2025
-
Many prominent energy and hardware startups have faltered at this critical juncture, struggling to transition from promising prototypes to reliable performance in real-world settings at scale.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
Running on a level surface (in supportive shoes—see above!) can serve as plenty a cardio workout without the extra yank on your plantar fascia.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
20 June 2025
-
Four yanks later, voila: Clayton had pulled free his prize, leaving just a single strand of nylon stuck in the Alamodome rim.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Voting had come to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours, with holdout senators huddling for negotiations and taking private meetings off the Senate floor.—
Ani Freedman,
Fortune,
29 June 2025
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Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging on for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
Finally, gradually acclimatizing workers to laboring in extreme heat, instead of expecting people to work full-steam on the first few blazing hot days of the summer.—
Terri Gerstein,
New York Daily News,
25 June 2025
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But his parents, Mexican immigrants in the Bracero program, labored in Woodland fields with no means to send Estrada, one of 15 children, to college.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2025
Noun
-
Lisa and Jody are mad that Larsa was a jerk at Jody’s birthday party.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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Based on my experience, labeling someone a contrarian is just an extremely polite way of calling out a person for being a jerk who’s obsessed with the sound of their own voice.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
25 June 2025
Verb
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Dunham, in turn, strives to find new ways of expressing the emotion, through disarming dialogue and affecting tableaux.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
10 July 2025
-
Founded in 886 by King Alfred the Great, The Royal Mint strives to marry its illustrious history with innovations in sustainable sourcing of precious metals.—
Kyle Roderick,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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