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
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
Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Noticing former Chicago Dogs teammate Harrison Smith, however, get ready before the game tugged at Crosby.
—Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 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
To remember what tugged her out of a law practice in the first place and to imbue that into her teams.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Noticing former Chicago Dogs teammate Harrison Smith, however, get ready before the game tugged at Crosby.
—Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 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
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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
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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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If the mention of Luxembourg conjures visions of banks, European institutions and a vague whiff of royalty, most people struggle to place the tiny country on a map.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
28 June 2025
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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
Noun
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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
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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
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Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging on for hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Los Angeles Times,
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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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
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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
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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 6 Jul. 2025.
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