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.
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Recent Examples of tug
Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
The Russian submarine was accompanied by the cruiser Varyag—identified by its hull number—and a rescue tug.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Somebody’s now in a headlock, and there’s a surge of packed bodies moving in a swelling tide of shirt-tugging and shouting.
—Jonathan Terrell, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Noun
There is a tug of war underway for their hearts and minds.
—Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
The Russian submarine was accompanied by the cruiser Varyag—identified by its hull number—and a rescue tug.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
The heart-tugging comedy is a point of pride for Johansson, 40, who hopes to set an example to her kids by stepping behind the camera and chasing her dreams.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Somebody’s now in a headlock, and there’s a surge of packed bodies moving in a swelling tide of shirt-tugging and shouting.
—Jonathan Terrell, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tug
Noun
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Held at La Valle Coastal Club in Rancho Santa Fe, the festive event featured a steel drum band, tropical bites, silent auction, opportunity drawings, a wine pull, and stories from clients whose lives have been transformed by Pathways’ legal support, according to a news release.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
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Decker knows that Minnesota does not have the same pull as the school's longtime Big Ten rivals like Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State — or even the new ones like Oregon, Washington and USC.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Still hauling out a heavy upright vacuum to clean everyday messes and dust buildup?—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
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Remove Cobwebs on the Ceiling If your friendly neighborhood spiders have been building webs in the corners of your house, grab the Swiffer to swat them away without needing to haul out the step ladder.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Los Angeles Dodgers' already struggling bullpen will be without one of its key members as the team prepares for the NLCS.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Oct. 2025
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President Joe Biden struggled to stop wars in Europe and the Middle East.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Effectively, this turned the workspace into a yank buffer along with all your documents, and undoing any destructive editing operation thus became merely another cut and paste.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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Visitors to China will want to lighten their grip, while folks introducing themselves to Germans should know to stop after one firm downward yank.—
Chris Ciolli,
AFAR Media,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Linda also drags her daughter to a clinic for regular treatments, none of which seem to do any good.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
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That was Emily, the fifer, dragging a man out of bed.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Already labored by national debt levels around double the European target, in September the French economy was downgraded by credit ratings agency Fitch.—
Saskya Vandoorne,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
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This October's full moon is known as the Harvest Moon, owing to its proximity to the autumn equinox — when farmers would labor under the light of the moon to gather their crops long before artificial light was invented.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Saddled with an uninteresting jerk half the time and a muzzled non-entity the other half, there’s only a handful of moments in the first six episodes where Powell’s star power shines through.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Sep. 2025
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For a taste of the Caribbean, head to Kingston Kitchen at the Village Inn, where chef Shawn Fearon serves the flavors of his native Jamaica—oxtail, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, curried goat, and the best whitefish sandwich on the island.—
Christine Chitnis,
Vogue,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Fake blood in color films Prop makers striving for realism and nuance chafed under the restrictions of early film technology.—
Mark Hay,
Popular Science,
9 Oct. 2025
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Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is also striving to curb China’s growing influence in Latin America.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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