• Tug

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: tÅ­g, IPA: /tʌɡ/
    • Rhymes: -ʌɡ

    Origin

    From Middle English tuggen, toggen, from Old English togian ("to draw, drag"), from Proto-Germanic *tugōną ("to draw, tear"), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ("to pull"). Cognate with Middle Low German togen ("to draw"), Middle High German zogen ("to pull, tear off"), Icelandic toga ("to pull, draw"). Related to tee, tow.

    Full definition of tug

    Verb

    1. (transitive) to pull or drag with great effortThe police officers tugged the drunkard out of the pub.
    2. (transitive) to pull hard repeatedlyHe 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

    Noun

    tug

    (plural tugs)
    1. a sudden powerful pull
      • DrydenAt the tug he falls,
        Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls.
      • 2011, September 24, David Ornstein, Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton, 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.
    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 masturbationHe had a quick tug to calm himself down before his date.

    Derived terms

    Anagrams

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