1
: a physical contest or struggle : scuffle
2
: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle
Examples of tussle in a Sentence
Noun
The suspect was arrested after a tussle with a security guard.
a tussle for control of the company
The President is in for another tussle with Congress.
Verb
Two players tussled for the ball.
The residents of the neighborhood tussled with city hall for years about the broken parking meters.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jared Gans, The Hill, 19 June 2025
This is not to downplay singer SZA’s ability to draw a crowd, as the tour’s co-headliner also has a massive fan base, many of whom don’t give AF about Dot and Drizzy’s 2024 tussle either way.
—Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 June 2025
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 26 June 2025
After months of tussling over private-listings networks, the battle between Compass, the brokerage that has championed exclusive, in-house listings, and Zillow, the largest listings network in the country, has turned into all-out war.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Another tussle took place when Padilla interrupted a press conference Noem was holding last week to ask why President Trump deployed the National Guard to address protests in Los Angeles.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 19 June 2025
This is not to downplay singer SZA’s ability to draw a crowd, as the tour’s co-headliner also has a massive fan base, many of whom don’t give AF about Dot and Drizzy’s 2024 tussle either way.
—Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 June 2025
Verb
The two men tussle, and Rodney impressively holds his own against a much stronger opponent.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 26 June 2025
After months of tussling over private-listings networks, the battle between Compass, the brokerage that has championed exclusive, in-house listings, and Zillow, the largest listings network in the country, has turned into all-out war.
—Kim Velsey, Curbed, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tussle
Cite this Entry
“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tussle. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tussle
2 of 2 noun1
: a physical contest or struggle
2
: a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share