tussle
noun
\
Definition of tussle
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a physical contest or struggle : scuffle
2 : an intense argument, controversy, or struggle
tussle
verb
\
Definition of tussle (Entry 2 of 2)
: to struggle roughly : scuffle
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for tussle
Synonyms: Noun
battle, clash, combat, conflict, contest, dustup, fight, fracas, fray, hassle, scrap, scrimmage, scrum, scuffle, skirmish, struggle
Synonyms: Verb
grapple, rassle, scuffle, wrestle
Visit the Thesaurus for More
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
The two basketball 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: Noun
Manafort, who served as President Trump’s campaign manager from June to August 2016, was booked into Virginia’s Alexandria Detention Center Thursday amid an ongoing courtroom tussle over his confinement. — Andrew O'reilly, Fox News, "Manafort mugshot revealed after he's moved to new jail," 13 July 2018 Although small, the park offers a fenced-in space to tussle and play after visiting nearby pet-friendly establishments such as Green Vegetarian Cuisine or the Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden; 618 Avenue A; 210-212-7260; www.atpearl.com. — Ingrid Wilgen, San Antonio Express-News, "Dog parks offer off-leash time and a place to play," 11 June 2018 Part of the conflict’s power has been to knot together many reasons people here are angry – among them poverty, political marginalization, ethnic divides, and local leadership tussles – into a kind of nebulous rage with no clear target. — Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, "For doctor in Congo's overlooked conflict, 'crisis fatigue' isn't an option," 22 Mar. 2018 There still should be some intriguing matches, such as Friday’s tussle between Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, "Limit alcohol to fans, but golfers also need thicker skin," 21 Mar. 2018 An officer had fallen during a tussle with inmates and his leg had snapped, sending bone through skin. — New York Times, "Safety Concerns Grow as Inmates Are Guarded by Teachers and Secretaries," 17 June 2018 Leahy accumulated more than 16,000 jet orders worth $1.7 trillion during his two decades as head salesman, many of them secured in air-show tussles with Boeing Co. that saw deals sealed over a stiff drink in the wee hours. — Kyunghee Park, Bloomberg.com, "New Airbus Sales Pitch Trades Swagger for Sharpened Pencils," 7 Feb. 2018 Playing his second Summer League game, the Utah Jazz rookie got into a brief tussle with Atlanta Hawks counterpart Trae Young on Thursday night. — Matt Eppers, USA TODAY, "Rookies Grayson Allen and Trae Young scuffle during Summer League game," 6 July 2018 If passed there, it would then be put to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has his own history of bridge-naming tussles. — Vivian Wang, New York Times, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Verrazano? With an Extra Z," 7 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Lawmakers have tussled over how big a role the federal government should play in state elections and whether to include new funding for state election security. — Derek Hawkins, Washington Post, "The Cybersecurity 202: Election security legislation may be gaining steam in Congress," 12 July 2018 Galloway, who is running for re-election this fall, has tussled previously with Greitens. — Jason Hancock, kansascity, "Two private lawyers helping Greitens on impeachment cost state total of $660 an hour | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018 Cut to little more than three months later: CBS and National Amusements were tussling as lawyers working under the direction of their headstrong leaders filed motions against each other. — New York Times, "CBS Tries to Sell Its TV Dramas as Its Own Battle Heats Up in Court," 16 May 2018 In 2016, PillPack publicly tussled with Express Scripts after the benefit manager excluded the start-up from its mail-order network, saying that PillPack had misrepresented itself as a brick-and-mortar company. — Katie Thomas, New York Times, "Why Amazon’s Push Into Prescription Drugs Isn’t a Guaranteed Success," 2 July 2018 Apart from that, Spain and Portugal tussled out a thrilling 3-3 tie. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "Sorry soccer haters, but this World Cup is absolutely awesome," 25 June 2018 World energy ministers representing about two thirds of the global population tussled over how the world can achieve a cleaner energy future. — Jonathan Gilbert, Bloomberg.com, "A Greener Future Starts With Natural Gas, World Energy Chiefs Say," 16 June 2018 At one point, Sintay grabbed the phone, tussled with its owner and ran off — perhaps not realizing that his movements were still being streamed on Facebook Live. — Erin Stone, SFChronicle.com, "Charges filed against Oakland’s ‘Jogger Joe’ as case shows immense power of shared videos," 13 June 2018 In the meantime, these players will tussle for playing time elsewhere. — Larry Holder, NOLA.com, "Saints finally stable at linebacker, but who plays where?," 15 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tussle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for tussle
tussle
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tussle
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a short fight or struggle
: an argument or a dispute
tussle
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of tussle (Entry 2 of 2)
: to fight or struggle with someone by grabbing or pushing
: to argue or compete with someone
See the full definition for tussle in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tussle
noun
\
Kids Definition of tussle
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a short fight or struggle
2 : a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds
tussle
verbKids Definition of tussle (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to struggle roughly : scuffle
2 : to argue or compete with
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on tussle
What made you want to look up tussle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Difficult Vocab Quiz
-
- Which is a synonym of discomfit?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share tussle
Resources for tussle