tug

[tuhg] /tʌg/
verb (used with object), tugged, tugging.
1.
to pull at with force, vigor, or effort.
2.
to move by pulling forcibly; drag; haul.
3.
to tow (a vessel) by means of a tugboat.
verb (used without object), tugged, tugging.
4.
to pull with force or effort:
to tug at a stuck drawer.
5.
to strive hard; labor; toil.
noun
6.
an act or instance of tugging; pull; haul.
7.
a strenuous contest between opposing forces, groups, or persons; struggle:
the tug of young minds in a seminar.
8.
tugboat.
9.
that by which something is tugged, as a rope or chain.
10.
  1. trace2 (def 1).
  2. any of various supporting or pulling parts.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to Old English togian to tow1
Related forms
tugger, noun
tugless, adjective
untugged, adjective
Synonyms
1. yank, jerk, wrench.
Examples from the web for tug
  • As the tug crashes into the barge, the doctor and vida leap off.
British Dictionary definitions for tug

tug

/tʌɡ/
verb tugs, tugging, tugged
1.
when intr, sometimes foll by at. to pull or drag with sharp or powerful movements: the boy tugged at the door handle
2.
(transitive) to tow (a vessel) by means of a tug
3.
(intransitive) to work; toil
noun
4.
a strong pull or jerk: he gave the rope a tug
5.
Also called tugboat, towboat. a boat with a powerful engine, used for towing barges, ships, etc
6.
a hard struggle or fight
7.
a less common word for trace2 (sense 1)
Derived Forms
tugger, noun
Word Origin
C13: related to Old English tēon to tow1
Word Origin and History for tug
v.

early 13c., from weak grade of Old English teohan "to pull, drag," from Proto-Germanic *teukh- "pull," from PIE *deuk- "to pull, to lead" (see duke (n.)). Related to tow (v.). Related: Tugged; tugging.

n.

c.1500, from tug (v.). Meaning "small steamer used to tow other vessels" is recorded from 1817. Phrase tug of war (1670s) was originally figurative, "the decisive contest, the real struggle."