tugging

verb

Definition of tuggingnext
present participle of tug
1
as in pulling
to cause to follow by applying steady force on tugged on the door until it opened

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort she's tugged all her life to get to where she is now in the business world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugging
  1. pulling
  2. laboring
  3. hauling
  4. struggling
  5. striving
  6. working
  7. trying
Verb
  • If the first matchup in 2017 felt like a battle of two unknowns and the second in 2019 felt like Georgia making The Leap while Notre Dame was trying to keep up but not quite pulling it off, what does the third game feel like to you?
    Seth Emerson, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Vincent Price’s favorite holiday was Christmas, and the horror icon couldn’t resist pulling a prank on his wife each December, according to his daughter.
    Brie Stimson, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of pulling
Verb
  • New York police on Monday were trying to determine why someone set a woman ablaze board a train in Brooklyn in a fatal attack drawing outrage from city and state leaders who have been laboring to make the trains safer.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Earlier this year the agency adopted new heat protections that apply to indoor workers, expanding safety measures for more than a million workers laboring in warehouses, kitchens, laundry rooms and other hot indoor settings.
    Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of laboring
Verb
  • The Falcon 9's upper stage continued hauling the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed about 65 minutes after launch.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The ski valet is super convenient for families who are already hauling way too much stuff, and even the littlest member of the family can take beginning ski or snowboard lessons.
    Esther Carlstone, Parents, 18 Dec. 2024
Definition of hauling
Verb
  • Key young players struggling Tortorella isn’t wrong that Michkov has seemed to hit a wall of late.
    Kevin Kurz, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • This surely is a positive development for Rumble, which has been struggling with user engagement issues on its platform.
    Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • When students saw their peers striving to better themselves through education and making better choices, Saffold said the kids’ attitudes changed.
    La Risa R. Lynch, Journal Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
  • In turn, the Icebreaker’s profile view shows a sharp wedge shape that’s uncommon, but not unheard of, in keyboards striving for a striking appearance.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of striving
Verb
  • Reflecting on costuming the film, Phillips says working on the project was unlike any other she’s done so far.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The behemoth was accidentally found by scientists and filmmakers working for National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project.
    Danielle Hall, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of working
Verb
  • New York police on Monday were trying to determine why someone set a woman ablaze board a train in Brooklyn in a fatal attack drawing outrage from city and state leaders who have been laboring to make the trains safer.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The holdups come during one of the busiest travel times of the year, frustrating hundreds of customers trying to get home for the holidays.
    Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of trying
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near tugging

tugged

tugging

tug-of-war

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Tugging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugging. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on tugging

Nglish: Translation of tugging for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of tugging for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...