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Webster 1913 Edition


Tug

Tug

,
Verb.
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.
téon
, p. p.
togen
, to draw, G.
ziehen
, OHG.
ziohan
, Goth.
tiuhan
, L.
ducere
to lead, draw. Cf.
Duke
,
Team
,
Tie
,
Verb.
T.
,
Touch
,
Tow
,
Verb.
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

,
Verb.
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.
Shakespeare

Tug

,
Noun.
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 1828 Edition


Tug

TUG

,
Verb.
T.
[L. duco. See Tow, to draw.]
1.
To pull or draw with great effort; to drag along with continued exertion; to haul along.
There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar.
2.
To pull; to pluck.
--To ease the pain
His tugg'd ears suffer'd with a strain.

TUG

,
Verb.
I.
To pull with great effort; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream.
1.
To labor; to strive; to struggle.
They long wrestled and strenuously tugged for their liberty. [This is not elegant.]

TUG

,
Noun.
A pull with the utmost effort.
At the tug he falls--
Vast ruins come along--
1.
A sort of carriage, used in some parts of England for conveying bavins or faggots and other things.
2.
In some parts of New England, the traces of a harness are called tugs.

Definition 2024


tug

tug

See also: Tuğ

English

Verb

tug (third-person singular simple present tugs, present participle tugging, simple past and past participle tugged)

  1. (transitive) to pull or drag with great effort
    The police officers tugged the drunkard out of the pub.
  2. (transitive) to pull hard repeatedly
    He lost his patience trying to undo his shoe-lace, but tugging it made the knot even tighter.
  3. (transitive) to tow by tugboat

Derived terms

  • tug down
  • tug up

Translations

Noun

tug (plural tugs)

  1. a sudden powerful pull
    • Dryden
      At the tug he falls, / Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls.
    • 2011 September 24, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC Sport:
      But Van Persie slotted home 40 seconds after the break before David Wheater saw red for a tug on Theo Walcott.
  2. (nautical) a tugboat
  3. (obsolete) A kind of vehicle used for conveying timber and heavy articles.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
  4. A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.
  5. (mining) An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.
  6. (slang) An act of masturbation
    He had a quick tug to calm himself down before his date.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams


Lojban

Rafsi

tug

  1. rafsi of tugni.

Scottish Gaelic

Verb

tug

  1. past tense of thoir

Usage notes