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
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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
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Recent Examples of tug
Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Like other award ceremonies, BET has also endured its share of bumps and bruises in the ongoing tug of war between captivating audiences in a 24/7 media world and lower ratings.
—Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 9 June 2025
Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Some brushes can tug, cause static, or pull too harshly at delicate strands, leading to unnecessary damage over time.
—Daisy Maldonado, Glamour, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
After a 30-minute tug of war, finally seeing the bony plates of the prehistoric fish emerge from the murky depths of the Snake feels like uncovering the last surviving creature to slither out of the primordial ooze shortly after the Earth cooled.
—Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Like other award ceremonies, BET has also endured its share of bumps and bruises in the ongoing tug of war between captivating audiences in a 24/7 media world and lower ratings.
—Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 9 June 2025
Verb
However, tugging at people’s heart strings will only get a nonprofit so far.
—Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Some brushes can tug, cause static, or pull too harshly at delicate strands, leading to unnecessary damage over time.
—Daisy Maldonado, Glamour, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
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These hanging pieces resist the pull of gravity and tradition alike.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
Two atoms of oxygen bound together as oxygen gas have a pull similarly as strong as a single atom on its own.—
Laura Poppick,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
Verb
-
Just think about where your luggage has been; it gets hauled through airports, goes for a ride on a conveyor belt, rolls across dusty parking lots, is stashed into overhead bins, and is often handled by multiple people with no guarantee of clean hands.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 June 2025
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Those were frugal, pragmatic solutions; every stone that could be reused was another one that didn’t have to be quarried, cut, hauled, and placed.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
Verb
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However, San Jose has struggled to keep pace, with the city failing to see a single construction start last year for market-rate multi-family developments over 20 units, making the Pleasant Hills project a potential bonus should it be constructed.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
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Now, with no practical skills to speak of, the newly unemployed Grant struggled to find work.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
28 June 2025
Noun
-
Running on a level surface (in supportive shoes—see above!) can serve as plenty a cardio workout without the extra yank on your plantar fascia.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
20 June 2025
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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
Verb
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Even as Beijing drags its feet on financial reforms, the chaos surrounding Trump 2.0 is making the case, day after day, for an alternative to the dollar.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
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Voting had come to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours, with holdout senators huddling for negotiations and taking private meetings off the Senate floor.—
Ani Freedman,
Fortune,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
Haliburton was laboring, and the Pacers were working around it.—
Tony East,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
Indeed, where Webb got soft contact and quick outs, needing just 98 pitches to complete his seventh seven-inning outing of the season, Yamamoto labored through hitters’ counts and long at-bats, issuing a career-high five walks while finding the strike zone on just 56 of his 102 pitches.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Noun
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Lisa and Jody are mad that Larsa was a jerk at Jody’s birthday party.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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Based on my experience, labeling someone a contrarian is just an extremely polite way of calling out a person for being a jerk who’s obsessed with the sound of their own voice.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
25 June 2025
Verb
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Kenn Ricci, founder of Flexjet, is an executive who strives to embody both while also running a business in one of the more challenging industries to be sustainable in, aviation.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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But improvements on the field are what this group strives for each year.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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