as in pull
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force
gave the man in front a tug on his shirtsleeve as a sign that he was supposed to step aside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
she's tugged all her life to get to where she is now in the business world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of tug
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 May 2025
Piquant notes of ginger play tug of war with a sweet carbonated soft drink flavored with milk and yogurt in the Pickled Ginger.
—Kristin Braswell, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 May 2025
Sophie Dodd, People.com, 6 May 2025
Julius lands in Vegas and gets his heart tugged hard by scheming Henry (Calva), and those scenes are highly sensual.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
Netflix has won out in a tug of war for Richard Linklater‘s Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague after its Cannes Film Festival debut in the competition.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 26 May 2025
Piquant notes of ginger play tug of war with a sweet carbonated soft drink flavored with milk and yogurt in the Pickled Ginger.
—Kristin Braswell, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 May 2025
Verb
The viewing party tugged at the heartstrings of their costars, who reacted in the comments section.
—Sophie Dodd, People.com, 6 May 2025
Julius lands in Vegas and gets his heart tugged hard by scheming Henry (Calva), and those scenes are highly sensual.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
-
How to Pick a Hardware Color If choosing colorful knobs and pulls, Stephenson says her first move is to eliminate disliked colors.—
Kristina McGuirk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 June 2025
-
Considering their pull with the UFC and PFL, could a superfight even happen?—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Verb
-
The operation is massive: participants haul wagons and horses up to Nevada from all over California and coordinate nightly rest stops in shopping centers, ranches, even neighborhoods.—
Tina Li,
Sacbee.com,
7 June 2025
-
Efforts to haul him in for oversight hit a brick wall.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
6 June 2025
Verb
-
Both struggling defenders were pulled at halftime, replaced with like-for-like alternatives (Reed Baker-Whiting and Jon Bell) who fared better in the second half.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
-
Flummoxed in Congress, organizing back home The pushback to Trump has been slow in starting as congressional Democrats, outnumbered in both chambers, continue to struggle to devise the strongest message and most effective tactics to use against the Republican president.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
Four yanks later, voila: Clayton had pulled free his prize, leaving just a single strand of nylon stuck in the Alamodome rim.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Each blade has a pull tab at the top of its cartridge; just give it a gentle yank to remove it.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
What were the final few days like? Exhausting and dragging on.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
17 June 2025
-
But by the late 1970s, as negotiations over a treaty dragged on, Congress grew receptive to industry lobbyists seeking legislation that would protect their investments in mining sites beyond U.S. maritime jurisdiction.—
Time,
Time,
17 June 2025
Verb
-
But the last pieces are always the hardest, and the weird SALT dance has the potential to snarl things even more at the last minute — especially after Speaker Johnson labored to get some of the same pro-SALT members to codify spending cuts.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
13 June 2025
-
But build rather than buy has been the Apple ethos ever since Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak were laboring in their garage in the mid-1970s.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
But in politics — as in life —there’s a fine line between being genuine and being a jerk.—
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
-
Smoky, spicy jerk is also on the menu in the Pulled Jerk Pork & Coconut Shrimp appetizer at Eleanor’s at Sandals Grande Antigua.—
Sandals Resorts,
AFAR Media,
4 June 2025
Verb
-
Jared, a division of Signet Jewelers, is striving to increase its relevancy to today’s customers in other ways as well.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
16 June 2025
-
For the striving artists, a steady job is not a compromise but a strategic advantage, a powerful catalyst for sustained creativity and personal well-being.—
Kice Akkawi,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 21 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share