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
Still the legal tug-of-war raged on.
—
Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Nearly sixty minutes of raw tug-of-war between a man on the sand and something lurking beneath the Gulf.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026
This is the 49ers’ third contract tug-of-war with Williams.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
There was an ongoing tug-of-war between writers and gay critics, who would try to push the genre toward realism.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug-of-war
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Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Nearly sixty minutes of raw tug-of-war between a man on the sand and something lurking beneath the Gulf.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2026
This is the 49ers’ third contract tug-of-war with Williams.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
There was an ongoing tug-of-war between writers and gay critics, who would try to push the genre toward realism.
—E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 23 Feb. 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 3 Mar. 2026.
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