tug

To tug at something is to pull. It’s usually used with ropes, strings, and loose items of clothing, but it can be used with other things:

• Raymond’s son is tugging on his shirt.
• That small boat is tugging a barge on the river.
• The urge to go to college keeps tugging at her.
• Don’t tug on that! It’ll fall over.
• The cat tugged on the tablecloth until the coffee cup crashed to the floor. (Bad cat!)

A popular competition that requires a great show of strength is called tug of war. The game is played with a rope. There are two sides. Each side takes one end of the rope and tries to pull the other side forward.

tug of war

Click here to learn more words.

February 8, 2013