tussle

1 of 2

noun

tus·​sle ˈtə-səl 

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 

intransitive verb

: to struggle roughly : scuffle

Synonyms of tussle

Noun

• clash
• skirmish
• battle
• fight
• scuffle
• struggle

Verb

• wrestle
• fight

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

Noun

As his tussles with grief and sobriety and heartbreak appear in flashes, so do red and blue police lights. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026

The legal tussles boil down to whether the federal government or the states have primary authority to oversee prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcome of sports, elections and many other events. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 24 June 2026

Verb

Over the past month, the administration has tussled with Anthropic and OpenAI over releasing their latest models to the public. — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 29 June 2026

But the Americans tussled right back, and never totally lost their cool. — Sean Gregory, Time, 20 June 2026

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

Rhymes for tussle

• bustle
• hustle
• muscle
• mussel
• russel
• rustle
• trussell
• mofussil

Kids Definition

tussle

1 of 2 verb

tus·​sle ˈtəs-əl 

tussled; tussling

ˈtəs-(ə-)liŋ

: scuffle sense 1

tussle

2 of 2 noun

1

: a physical contest or struggle

2

: a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds