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to tug
01
to pull with a quick, forceful movement
Transitive: to tug at sth | to tug on sth
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
Movement verb
Regular
Present tense
tug
3rd person singular
tugs
Present participle
tugging
Past simple
tugged
Past participle
tugged
Examples
He tugged at the stuck suitcase handle, hoping it would finally open.
02
to pull or strive forcefully in a contest or struggle
Transitive: to tug at sth | to tug against sth
Examples
During the tug of war competition, the two teams tugged fiercely at the rope, each vying for victory.
03
to cause something to move by applying force with a pulling action
Transitive: to tug sth to a direction
Examples
She tugged the reluctant horse forward, urging it to cross the stream.
04
to pull or carry something with effort
Transitive: to tug sth somewhere | to tug sth to a direction
Examples
The porter tugged the heavy luggage up the staircase, careful not to lose balance.
05
to pull or tow a ship using the power and assistance of a tugboat
Transitive: to tug a ship somewhere
Examples
The harbor pilot directed the tugboat to tug the massive container ship into the port.
06
to work or strain vigorously and with effort
Intransitive: to tug at sth
Examples
In the studio, the artist tugged at the pottery wheel, molding clay into intricate forms.
Tug
01
a sudden abrupt pull
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
tugs
02
a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships
Lexical Tree
tugger
tug
