tug-of-war
noun
plural tugs-of-war
1
: a struggle for supremacy or control usually involving two antagonists
2
: a contest in which two teams pull against each other at opposite ends of a rope with the object of pulling the middle of the rope over a mark on the ground
Examples of tug-of-war in a Sentence
the effort to get their teenage son to keep his room clean is a constant tug-of-war
Recent Examples on the Web
There was also a famed giant tug-of-war between South Austin and North Austin across Town Lake.
—
Mars Salazar, Austin American Statesman, 19 Jan. 2026
These images revealed this vast black hole jet is in a tug-of-war for dominance with the gravitational force of the rest of the galaxy.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Amazon Prime’s The Girlfriend, about Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke engaging in a high-stakes tug-of-war between a mother and her son’s girlfriend, would have been an incredibly tacky old-timey Globes pick.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
In this case, the influence of four planets in Capricorn, opposing Jupiter retrograde in Cancer, creates a tug-of-war between ambition (Capricorn) and emotion (Cancer), amplifying pressure, urgency and the feeling that something’s got to give.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
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Mars Salazar, Austin American Statesman, 19 Jan. 2026
These images revealed this vast black hole jet is in a tug-of-war for dominance with the gravitational force of the rest of the galaxy.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Amazon Prime’s The Girlfriend, about Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke engaging in a high-stakes tug-of-war between a mother and her son’s girlfriend, would have been an incredibly tacky old-timey Globes pick.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
In this case, the influence of four planets in Capricorn, opposing Jupiter retrograde in Cancer, creates a tug-of-war between ambition (Capricorn) and emotion (Cancer), amplifying pressure, urgency and the feeling that something’s got to give.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug-of-war
Cite this Entry
“Tug-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tug-of-war. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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