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
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Recent Examples of tug
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026
Occupants were seen wearing masks on the deck as the boat was escorted through the port by a tug boat and a Dutch police boat.
—CBS News, 18 May 2026
Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026
There’s an elastic tension in the way that a character like Mal wants to confess, wants to share in community, and also wants to disappear, a situation that tugs at her relationships with her friends and with the audience.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
Some companies are designing tugs that could boost missions from their drop-off orbits to higher altitudes, potentially even to the Moon or beyond the Solar System.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026
Occupants were seen wearing masks on the deck as the boat was escorted through the port by a tug boat and a Dutch police boat.
—CBS News, 18 May 2026
Verb
Just across the state line, Alabama’s DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon are also wonderful for stunning views, hikes and whatever else tugs your trotline.
—Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2026
There’s an elastic tension in the way that a character like Mal wants to confess, wants to share in community, and also wants to disappear, a situation that tugs at her relationships with her friends and with the audience.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
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In addition to queen rooms, there is also a family suite option with a private King room, bunk beds and a queen-sized pull-out with a kitchenette.—
Ella Gonzales
May 29,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 May 2026
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Yet the pull toward the art world soon became undeniable.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
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What do a pet waste management company, a junk hauling service and disaster restoration specialists have in common?—
Mirtha Donastorg,
AJC.com,
2 June 2026
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One man might describe how he was tortured as a prisoner of war, or another might recall the day his brother was hauled away from their home, never to be seen again.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Verb
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As families struggle with rising costs, healthcare affordability has emerged as a defining issue heading into the midterms.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
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The back-to-back deals offer one of the clearest signals yet that Abel is prepared to put Berkshire’s enormous balance sheet to work after years of criticism that the company had become too cautious and was struggling to find opportunities large enough to move the needle.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Connie Lansdown, the hysterectomy patient, watches the storm yank a man from a reclining chair and drag him down the hall.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
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No snagging Lower-quality beard combs often have the intolerable tendency to pull, yank or just rip out clumps of facial hair.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The weakness spread across the sector, dragging the VanEck Semiconductor ETF down more than 1%, while Arm Holdings lost over 4% and Micron Technology slid nearly 8%.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
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Before long, security surrounded the former fan favorite and dragged him out of the arena in handcuffs as stunned fans watched.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
Verb
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The Thunder labored through a 111-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in a decisive Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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With evacuation shelters reaching capacity as more than 40,000 people were asked to leave their homes, officials laboring to prevent an explosion at a crippled chemical tank in Garden Grove reported tentative progress Sunday in ending the crisis.—
Deborah Netburn,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
Noun
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His profession is to be the screaming jerk on reality shows, and his house burns down.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 May 2026
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These measurements enabled scientists to identify sudden changes linked to the Pacific reversal and a geomagnetic disturbance known as the 2017 geomagnetic jerk.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Her 50-something protagonist, Alan Anderson, and his socially striving wife Vivian, are at least about to start thinking about where their family is going to go, once Alan retreats to a backyard playhouse.—
Bethanne Patrick,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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The Bears are also emphasizing ball placement with all of their quarterbacks, striving for pinpoint precision on throws as often as possible.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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