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Glite Dictionary
🤏 To pull hard 🤏 A strong pull 🚢 A small towboat 💪 To strive hard 🚢 To tow a boat
to tug

to tug

95 1.0
To pull something hard, often in a quick way
  • verb
  • /tʌɡ/
: tirar de
  • She had to tug on the rope to pull the heavy box closer.

And we were wailing and tugging at her skirt and she spun her.

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Examples

Synonyms

to drag
vsto tug
938 2.0

To pull something along the ground with effort or force someone into a place unwillingly

focuses on short, hard pulls rather than dragging along a surface or person
to yank
vsto tug
172 4.1

To pull something suddenly and hard

can be sudden or repeated and often involves effort rather than one strike
to haul
vsto tug
79 2.5

To pull something with effort, often slowly

is often quicker or repeated and focuses on sharp rather than sustained effort
to lug
vsto tug
48 4.4

To carry or drag something heavy with effort

involves brief, often sharp tugs rather than extended carrying effort
to pull at
vsto tug
22 3.9

To tug gently with your fingers again and again, often when nervous

involves stronger or harder pulls and often more force than light plucking
to wrench
vsto tug
20 4.2

To twist or pull something hard to remove it

is a straight pulling action and does not require twisting to force removal
to heave
vsto tug
19 3.9

To lift or pull something heavy with effort

can be quick and repeated or less about lifting heavy weight specifically
to pull along
vsto tug
10 3.0

To move something by dragging it with effort

is about short, sharp pulls rather than prolonged moving over distance
to pluck at
vsto tug
3 6.1

To pull lightly and repeatedly at something with your fingers

describes harder, sometimes sudden or repeated pulls that need effort
to yank the door open
vsto tug
  • Informal
1 4.6

Pull a door quickly and hard to open it

covers similar sudden or repeated pulls not limited to opening objects
to hoick
vsto tug
  • UK
1 9.4

To pull or lift something suddenly with a lot of force

allows both quick snaps and slower or repeated efforts rather than only brisk moves

Idioms

to tug at someone's heartstrings
  • Informal
2 5.3

To make someone feel very sad or touched

to tug (on) a forelock
  • Archaic
9.9

To show respect by lowering your head and gently pulling the hair at your forehead

Compounds

tug of war
22 2.0

A game where two teams pull a rope to drag the other team across a line

tug-of-war
  • Informal
13 3.2

A hard struggle between two groups for power or control

tug-of-war
6 3.0

A contest where two teams pull a rope to drag the other team across a line

How Forceful

to wrench
20 4.2
to yank
172 4.1
to jerk
98 2.0
to tug
95 1.0
pull
93 1.0

Surface Forms

tug infinitive
tugged past
tugged past participle
tugging present participle
tugs third person singular

Etymology

Tug as a verb probably comes from an old word meaning 'to pull'; think of the common word pull or the game tug-of-war— to tug is to pull hard or again and again.