as in rivalry
an earnest effort for superiority or victory over another
the effort to get their teenage son to keep his room clean is a constant tug-of-war
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Examples of tug-of-war in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Crucially, its interior is also warmed by a gravitational tug-of-war between its parent planet and fellow-moons.
—
David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024
Eventually, though, Rodgers won this tug-of-war and McCarthy was canned.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024
At a time of economic uncertainty, social media and a tug-of-war between at-home and in-office work, running a business means taking on entirely new challenges current business leaders may not have ever experienced.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2024
The tug-of-war between performance, power and thermal management will undoubtedly continue for the foreseeable future as AI and future workloads demand more performance.
—Steven Woo, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tug-of-war 
David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024
Eventually, though, Rodgers won this tug-of-war and McCarthy was canned.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024
At a time of economic uncertainty, social media and a tug-of-war between at-home and in-office work, running a business means taking on entirely new challenges current business leaders may not have ever experienced.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2024
The tug-of-war between performance, power and thermal management will undoubtedly continue for the foreseeable future as AI and future workloads demand more performance.
—Steven Woo, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tug-of-war
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tug-of-war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Tug-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tug-of-war. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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