tug

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

tug, v. t. [OE. toggen; akin to OD. tocken to entice, G. zucken to jerk, draw, Icel. toga to draw, AS. téon, p. p. togen, to draw, G. ziehen, OHG. ziohan, Goth. tiuhan, L. ducere to lead, draw. Cf. Duke, Team, Tie, v. t., Touch, Tow, v. t., Tuck to press in, Toy a plaything.].

•  To pull or draw with great effort; to draw along with continued exertion; to haul along; to tow; as, to tug a loaded cart; to tug a ship into port.  [1913 Webster]

  "There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar."  [1913 Webster]
•  To pull; to pluck.  [1913 Webster]

  "To ease the pain,
  His tugged cars suffered with a strain."  [1913 Webster]

tug, v. i. 

•  To pull with great effort; to strain in labor; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream.  [1913 Webster]

  "He tugged, he shook, till down they came."  [1913 Webster]
•  To labor; to strive; to struggle.  [1913 Webster]

  "England now is left
  To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth
  The unowed interest of proud-swelling state."  [1913 Webster]

tug, n. 

•  A pull with the utmost effort, as in the athletic contest called tug of war; a supreme effort.  [1913 Webster]

  "At the tug he falls,
  Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls."  [1913 Webster]
•  A sort of vehicle, used for conveying timber and heavy articles.  Halliwell.  [1913 Webster]
•  A small, powerful steamboat used to tow vessels; -- called also steam tug, tugboat, and towboat.  [1913 Webster]
•  A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.  [1913 Webster]
•  An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.  [1913 Webster]

Tug iron, an iron hook or button to which a tug or trace may be attached, as on the shaft of a wagon.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

tug, v. & n.
--v. (tugged, tugging)
1 tr. & (foll. by at) intr. pull hard or violently; jerk (tugged it from my grasp; tugged at my sleeve).
2 tr. tow (a ship etc.) by means of a tugboat.
--n.
1 a hard, violent, or jerky pull (gave a tug on the rope).
2 a sudden strong emotional feeling (felt a tug as I watched them go).
3 a small powerful boat for towing larger boats and ships.
4 an aircraft towing a glider.
5 (of a horse's harness) a loop from a saddle supporting a shaft or trace.

Idiom

tug of love colloq. a dispute over the custody of a child. tug of war
1 a trial of strength between two sides pulling against each other on a rope.
2 a decisive or severe contest.

Derivative

tugger n.

Etymology

ME togge, tugge, intensive f. Gmc: see TOW(1)

THESAURUS

tug

adduct, adduction, affinity, allurement, attract, attractance, attraction, attractiveness, attractivity, back band, backstrap, battle, be magnetic, bearing rein, bellyband, bit, blinders, blinds, breeching, bridle, caparison, capillarity, capillary attraction, cavesson, centripetal force, checkrein, cheekpiece, chinband, cinch, collar, crownband, crupper, curb, draft, drag, draggle, draw, draw towards, drive, fight, gag swivel, girth, gravitation, gravity, hackamore, hale, halter, hames, hametugs, harness, haul, have an attraction, headgear, headstall, heave, hip straps, jaquima, jerk line, lines, lug, lure, magnet, magnetism, magnetize, martingale, moil, mutual attraction, noseband, oppugn, overexert, overexertion, overextend, overextension, overstrain, overstress, overtax, overtaxing, pole strap, press, pull, pull towards, pulling power, rack, reins, ribbons, saddle, shaft tug, side check, snaffle, snake, strain, strain every nerve, straining, stress, stress and strain, stressfulness, stretch, strive, surcingle, sweat blood, sympathy, tack, tackle, take in tow, tax, taxing, tense, tension, toil, tow, traction, trail, train, trappings, trawl, troll, war, warfare, winker braces, work, yoke

ROGET THESAURUS

tug

Exertion

N exertion, effort, strain, tug, pull, stress, throw, stretch, struggle, spell, spurt, spirt, stroke of work, stitch of work, a strong pull a long pull and a pull all together, dead lift, heft, gymnastics, exercise, exercitation, wear and tear, ado, toil and trouble, uphill work, hard work, warm work, harvest time, labor, work, toil, travail, manual labor, sweat of one's brow, swink, drudgery, slavery, fagging, hammering, limae labor, industry, industriousness, operoseness, operosity, trouble, pains, duty, resolution, energy, laboring, laborious, operose, elaborate, strained, toilsome, troublesome, wearisome, uphill, herculean, gymnastic, palestric, hard-working, painstaking, strenuous, energetic, hard at work, on the stretch, laboriously, lustily, pugnis et calcibus, with might and main, with all one's might, with a strong hand, with a sledge hammer, with much ado, to the best of one's abilities, totis viribus, vi et armis, manibus pedibusque, tooth and nail, unguibus et rostro, hammer and tongs, heart and soul, through thick and thin, by the sweat of one's brow, suo Marte, aide-toi le ciel t'aidera, and still be doing, never done, buen principio la mitad es hecha, cosa ben fatta e' fatta due volie, it is better to wear out than to rust out, labor omnia vincit, labor, wide as the earth, has its summit in Heaven, le travail du corps delivre des peines de l'esprit, manu forti, ora et labora.

VB exert oneself, exert one's energies, tax one's energies, use exertion, labor, work, toil, moil, sweat, fag, drudge, slave, drag a lengthened chain, wade through, strive, stretch a long arm, pull, tug, ply, ply the oar, tug at the oar, do the work, take the laboring oar bestir oneself (be active), take trouble, trouble oneself, work hard, rough it, put forth one's strength, put forth a strong arm, fall to work, bend the bow, buckle to, set one's shoulder to the wheel, work like a horse, work like a cart horse, work like a galley slave, work like a coal heaver, labor day and night, work day and night, redouble one's efforts, do double duty, work double hours, work double tides, sit up, burn the candle at both ends, stick to, work one's way, fight one's way, lay about one, hammer at, take pains, do one's best, do one's level best, do one's utmost, give one hundred percent, do the best one can, do all one can, do all in one's power, do as much as in one lies, do what lies in one's power, use one's best endeavor, use one's utmost endeavor, try one's best, try one's utmost, play one's best card, put one's best leg foremost, put one's right leg foremost, have one's whole soul in his work, put all one's strength into, strain every nerve, spare no efforts, spare no pains, go all lengths, go through fire and water, move heaven and earth, leave no stone unturned.

Ship

N ship, vessel, sail, craft, bottom, navy, marine, fleet, flotilla, shipping, man of war, transport, tender, storeship, merchant ship, merchantman, packet, liner, whaler, slaver, collier, coaster, lighter, fishing boat, pilot boat, trawler, hulk, yacht, baggala, floating hotel, floating palace, ocean greyhound, ship, bark, barque, brig, snow, hermaphrodite brig, brigantine, barkantine, schooner, topsail schooner, for and aft schooner, three masted schooner, chasse-maree, sloop, cutter, corvette, clipper, foist, yawl, dandy, ketch, smack, lugger, barge, hoy, cat, buss, sailer, sailing vessel, windjammer, steamer, steamboat, steamship, liner, ocean liner, cruiseship, ship of the line, mail steamer, paddle steamer, screw steamer, tug, line of steamers, destroyer, cruiser, frigate, landing ship, LST, aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop, nuclear powered carrier, submarine, submersible, atomic submarine, boat, pinnace, launch, life boat, long boat, jolly boat, bum boat, fly boat, cock boat, ferry boat, canal boat, swamp boat, ark, bully, battery, bateau, broadhorn, dory, droger, drogher, dugout, durham boat, flatboat, galiot, shallop, gig, funny, skiff, dingy, scow, cockleshell, wherry, coble, punt, cog, kedge, lerret, eight oar, four oar, pair oar, randan, outrigger, float, raft, pontoon, prame, iceboat, ice canoe, ice yacht, catamaran, hydroplane, hovercraft, coracle, gondola, carvel, caravel, felucca, caique, canoe, birch bark canoe, dugout canoe, galley, galleyfoist, bilander, dogger, hooker, howker, argosy, carack, galliass, galleon, polacca, polacre, tartane, junk, lorcha, praam, proa, prahu, saick, sampan, xebec, dhow, dahabeah, nuggah, kayak, keel boat, log canoe, pirogue, quadrireme, trireme, stern-wheeler, wanigan, wangan, wharf boat, balloon, airship, aeroplane, biplane, monoplane, triplane, hydroplane, aerodrome, air balloon, pilot balloon, fire balloon, dirigible, zeppelin, aerostat, Montgolfier, kite, parachute, jet plane, rocket plane, jet liner, turbojet, prop-jet, propeller plane, corporate plane, corporate jet, private plane, private aviation, airline, common carrier, fighter, bomber, fighter-bomber, escort plane, spy plane, supersonic aircraft, subsonic aircraft, afloat, aboard, on board, on ship board, hard a lee, hard a port, hard a starboard, hard a weather.

Traction

VB draw, pull, haul, lug, rake, drag, tug, tow, trail, train, take in tow, wrench, jerk, twitch, touse, yank.