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tug - 8 dictionary results
Tug
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tug

  [tuhg] ,verb, tugged, tug⋅ging, noun
Use tug in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
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)
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. (on a harness)
a. trace 2 (def. 1).
b. any of various supporting or pulling parts.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to OE togian to tow 1

Related forms:
tugger, noun
tugless, adjective

Synonyms:
1. yank, jerk, wrench.

tug⋅boat

  [tuhg-boht]
–noun
a small, powerful boat for towing or pushing ships, barges, etc.
Also called towboat, tug.

Origin:
1820–30, Americanism; tug + boat
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tug
tug   (tŭg)   
v.   tugged, tug·ging, tugs

v.   tr.
  1. To pull at vigorously or repeatedly.
  2. To move by pulling with great effort or exertion; drag.
  3. To tow by tugboat.
v.   intr.
  1. To pull hard: tugged at her boots. See Synonyms at pull.
  2. To toil or struggle; strain.
  3. To vie; contend.
n.  
  1. A strong pull or pulling force: the tug of the sea.
  2. A contest; a struggle: a tug between loyalty and desire.
    1. A tugboat.
    2. A land, air, or space vehicle that moves or tows other vehicles: an airplane tug.
  4. A rope, chain, or strap used in hauling, especially a harness trace.

[Middle English tuggen, from Old English tēon; see deuk- in Indo-European roots.]
tug'ger n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tug

Tug\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tugged; p. pr. & vb. n. Tugging.] [OE. toggen; akin to OD. tocken to entice, G. zucken to jerk, draw, Icel. toga to draw, AS. t['e]on, p. p. togen, to draw, G. ziehen, OHG. ziohan, Goth. tiuhan, L. ducere to lead, draw. Cf. Duke, Team, Tie, v. t., Touch, Tow, v. t., Tuck to press in, Toy a plaything.]

1. To pull or draw with great effort; to draw along with continued exertion; to haul along; to tow; as, to tug a loaded cart; to tug a ship into port.

There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar. --Roscommon.

2. To pull; to pluck. [Obs.]

To ease the pain, His tugged cars suffered with a strain. --Hudibras.

Tug

Tug\, v. i. 1. To pull with great effort; to strain in labor; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream.

He tugged, he shook, till down they came. --Milton.

2. To labor; to strive; to struggle.

England now is left To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth The unowed interest of proud-swelling state. --Shak.

Tug

Tug\, n. 1. A pull with the utmost effort, as in the athletic contest called tug of war; a supreme effort.

At the tug he falls, Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls. --Dryden.

2. A sort of vehicle, used for conveying timber and heavy articles. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

3. (Naut.) A small, powerful steamboat used to tow vessels; -- called also steam tug, tugboat, and towboat.

4. A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.

5. (Mining.) An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.

Tug iron, an iron hook or button to which a tug or trace may be attached, as on the shaft of a wagon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : tug
Spanish: tirar (de), dar un estirón,
German: zerren,
Japanese: 引っぱる
More Translations »

tug  (v.)
c.1225, from weak grade of O.E. teohan "to pull, drag," from P.Gmc. *teukh- "pull," from PIE *deuk- "to pull, to lead" (see duke). Related to tow (1). The noun is recorded from 1500; meaning "small steamer used to tow other vessels" is recorded from 1817. Phrase tug of war (1677) was originally figurative, "the decisive contest, the real struggle."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: tug
—see TRACHEAL TUG
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Tug
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