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

to tug

3 3.9
To pull a ship to or from a dock using a small boat
  • verb
  • /tʌɡ/
translation icon : remolcar
  • The tugboat will tug the vessel into the dock safely.
  • tug the boat

This meant being tugged by a cruiser or destroyer until the plane was within range of Germany itself, since they didn't have the range to fly the whole way from Britain.

Examples

  • I'm sure it gave him great peace inside hearing the music and being tugged by his cousin.

    Blog text (34)

  • The pirate boat goes up and the, you know, boat that we're tugging along goes up as well.

  • OK, If you took it off the tracks and let it sit there in the mud and have them try to tug the train, that ain't happening.

  • She waved at Randy as she was tugged toward the family room.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The Franciscan monk approached the convent entrance, cautiously tugged at the rope that rang the steps of the gatekeeper.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • They managed to tug the stranded boat free from the rocks.

  • The crew used the powerful tugboat to tug the large ships through the harbor.

Synonyms

to pull along
vsto tug
4 3.0

To move something by dragging it with effort

uses a powered boat to tow a specific vessel in water
to bowse
vsto tug
  • Archaic
9.9

Pull heavy things on a ship using ropes and pulleys

uses a powered boat to pull a vessel through water

Idioms

to tug at someone's heartstrings
  • Informal
1 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
  • Informal
15 3.2

A hard struggle between two groups for power or control

tug of war
4 2.0

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

tug-of-war
3 3.0

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

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Tug meaning 'to tow a vessel' comes from the same idea: boats that 'tug' are named for their job of pulling other ships, so to tug a ship is to tow it by pulling.