Nearby Words

tugging

Origin

tug

[tuhg] ,verb, tugged, tug·ging, noun
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.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Tugging is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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.
9.
that by which something is tugged, as a rope or chain.
10.
(on a harness)
a.
trace2 (def. 1).
b.
any of various supporting or pulling parts.

Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English toggen to play-wrestle, contend; akin to Old English togian to tow1

tug·ger, noun
tug·less, adjective
un·tugged, adjective


1. yank, jerk, wrench.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To tugging
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tug
early 13c., 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 c.1500; meaning "small steamer used to tow other vessels" is recorded
EXPAND
from 1817. Phrase tug of war (1670s) was originally figurative, "the decisive contest, the real struggle."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature