tugged; tugging
1
: to pull or strain hard at
3
: to tow with a tugboat
tugger
noun
tugrik, tugriks
Synonyms
Examples of tug in a Sentence
Verb
I felt someone tugging on my sleeve.
She tugged the cord until the plug came out of the wall socket.
Noun
He felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.
gave the man in front a tug on his shirtsleeve as a sign that he was supposed to step aside
Recent Examples on the Web
Manasee Weerathunga, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2023
When their pregnant mothers were pulled dead or dying from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, obstetricians went to work, tugging the infants from their mothers’ bodies.
—Vivian Yee, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023
Durability and Design: The sturdiness of the bags were tested as each tester pulled and tugged at each one, inspecting the seams and overall design of the bags.
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 16 Oct. 2023
Handle your eyelashes with gentle care: Be gentle with your eyelashes and avoid vigorous rubbing or tugging on your eyes or eyelashes.
—Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 3 Nov. 2023
The occupation was becoming a ’60s event, tugging at politics and pop culture.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 20 Sep. 2023
But the past keeps tugging at Comer’s character, with visions of her partner invading her dreams.
—Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
Yet, strangely, Rubin and her associates found that outlying stars were traveling at roughly the same rate as their more central siblings, suggesting that an enormous reservoir of hidden material in and around each galaxy was gravitationally tugging on the far-out stars to boost their speeds.
—Adam Mann, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2023
Eilish’s song tugs the movie into a whole other emotional realm.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023
Then, the warnings get louder and more frequent, the car tugs on your seatbelt, and the seat and steering wheel will vibrate.
—Daniel Golson, The Verge, 27 Sep. 2023
What to Consider Adjusting the straps involves pulling both metal sliders rather than a simple tug.
—Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2023
The Navy dispatched a fleet tug to recover the corpse.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
In any tug of war between Barbro Finndin Stål and her large poodle, Sally, the dog usually wins.
—Jen Murphy, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2023
Modeling studies suggest that Jupiter’s not-so-gentle gravitational tug causes Mars’s axis to wobble between a 15-degree tilt and a more extreme 35 degrees.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023
This designation, which Nepal has quietly rejected, has thrust the airport into the middle of a diplomatic tug of war between China and India.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023
The rock was transferred by crane onto smaller barges, which a tiny tug named the Capt. Curtis pushed to the site.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 24 Aug. 2023
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Verb
Among them, the ones that particularly tugged at my heart were those of the women scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization responsible for the mission, wearing saris.
—Manasee Weerathunga, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2023
When their pregnant mothers were pulled dead or dying from the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, obstetricians went to work, tugging the infants from their mothers’ bodies.
—Vivian Yee, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2023
Durability and Design: The sturdiness of the bags were tested as each tester pulled and tugged at each one, inspecting the seams and overall design of the bags.
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 16 Oct. 2023
Handle your eyelashes with gentle care: Be gentle with your eyelashes and avoid vigorous rubbing or tugging on your eyes or eyelashes.
—Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 3 Nov. 2023
The occupation was becoming a ’60s event, tugging at politics and pop culture.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 20 Sep. 2023
But the past keeps tugging at Comer’s character, with visions of her partner invading her dreams.
—Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
Yet, strangely, Rubin and her associates found that outlying stars were traveling at roughly the same rate as their more central siblings, suggesting that an enormous reservoir of hidden material in and around each galaxy was gravitationally tugging on the far-out stars to boost their speeds.
—Adam Mann, Scientific American, 11 Oct. 2023
Eilish’s song tugs the movie into a whole other emotional realm.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Noun
Tech companies find themselves at the center of a political tug of war between red states and blue states.
—Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023
Then, the warnings get louder and more frequent, the car tugs on your seatbelt, and the seat and steering wheel will vibrate.
—Daniel Golson, The Verge, 27 Sep. 2023
What to Consider Adjusting the straps involves pulling both metal sliders rather than a simple tug.
—Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2023
The Navy dispatched a fleet tug to recover the corpse.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
In any tug of war between Barbro Finndin Stål and her large poodle, Sally, the dog usually wins.
—Jen Murphy, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2023
Modeling studies suggest that Jupiter’s not-so-gentle gravitational tug causes Mars’s axis to wobble between a 15-degree tilt and a more extreme 35 degrees.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023
This designation, which Nepal has quietly rejected, has thrust the airport into the middle of a diplomatic tug of war between China and India.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023
The rock was transferred by crane onto smaller barges, which a tiny tug named the Capt. Curtis pushed to the site.
—Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 24 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4a
Time Traveler
The first known use of tug was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing tug
Dictionary Entries Near tug
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tug. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
Medical Definition
tug
see tracheal tug
More from Merriam-Webster on tug
Nglish: Translation of tug for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tug for Arabic Speakers
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