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
Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Output and downtime tug hard as the intuitive Moon activates your 6th House of Work and Health, opposing fiery Mars in your 12th House of Solitude.
—Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
Jack Lang, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
Its tech is being used to power the world’s first electric tugs that are about to go into service at the Port of Long Beach, under a deal worth $160 million announced in late 2025.
—Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Output and downtime tug hard as the intuitive Moon activates your 6th House of Work and Health, opposing fiery Mars in your 12th House of Solitude.
—Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026
Verb
Vinicus followed up his stunning early strike with a series of nagging runs, tugging the Panamanians’ back line into awkward shapes.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
-
That sense of modernity has sometimes felt absent from the movies’ sweetly old-fashioned world, which features pull-string cowboy dolls and a shiny spaceman action figure.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
19 June 2026
-
The wind projects to blow out to right field tonight, enhancing Muncy’s pull-side power potential.—
Josh Shepardson,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
The Traverse was then reportedly hit by the driver of a tractor-trailer hauling an empty logging trailer.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
-
Marin ultimately hauled McNulty to court in 2022, and a judge ordered her to vacate, according to Vanity Fair.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Caitlin Clark orchestrates offense Clark struggled to find her shooting touch Tuesday, missing 10 of 15 field goal attempts and seven of eight 3-pointers.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
-
Let’s see who thrives and who struggles now that these two have become ones.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
The yanks are coming, the yanks are coming!—
Kirk Bowman,
The Conversation,
9 June 2026
-
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
Verb
-
As the conflict in the Middle East has dragged on, pressure has been building on Capitol Hill to intervene.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
In an unprecedented moved in May, Lebanon filed a formal complaint against Iran at the United Nations Security Council, directly accusing Tehran of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations for interfering in its sovereign decisions and dragging the country into war.—
Mireille Rebeiz,
The Conversation,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
About 2,700 engineers labored on the project.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
-
Another laboring woman with the same image on her phone.—
Karli Swenson,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
This Jamaican restaurant, located just off Main Street, brings Caribbean flavors to Mackinac Island’s solid rotation of restaurants, with planked whitefish and jerk chicken sandwiches.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
-
After Game 4, jerks were throwing things at Victor Wembanyama.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
There are luxury resorts that strive to feel like homes, and then there are homes that accidentally become luxury resorts.—
Arion McNicoll,
TheWeek,
15 June 2026
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Impersonators try to embody the whole character, while tribute artists strive for other types of authenticity, like voice and dress.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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