tussle

1 of 2

noun

tus·​sle ˈtə-səl How to pronounce tussle (audio)
1
: a physical contest or struggle : scuffle
2
: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle

tussle

2 of 2

verb

tussled; tussling ˈtə-s(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce tussle (audio)

intransitive verb

: to struggle roughly : scuffle

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
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

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English (Scots) tussillen, frequentative of Middle English -tusen, -tousen to tousle — more at touse

First Known Use

Noun

1629, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1638, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tussle was in 1629

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tussle. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

tussle

1 of 2 verb
tus·​sle ˈtəs-əl How to pronounce tussle (audio)
tussled; tussling
ˈtəs-(ə-)liŋ

tussle

2 of 2 noun
1
: a physical contest or struggle
2
: a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds

More from Merriam-Webster on tussle

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