tugging

Variant of tug

intransitive verb tugged, tugging

  1. to exert great effort in pulling; pull hard; drag; haul: often with at
  2. to labor; toil; struggle

Origin: ME tuggen, prob. < ON toga, to draw, pull, akin to OE togian (see tow), teon, to pull < IE base *deuk-, to draw, pull > duct

transitive verb

  1. to pull at with great force; strain at
  2. to drag; haul
  3. to tow with a tugboat

noun

  1. an act or instance of tugging; hard pull
  2. a great effort or strenuous contest
  3. a rope, chain, etc. used for tugging or pulling; esp., a trace of a harness
  4. tugboat

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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