tug

B2 Topic:Maritime & Sailing

US /tʌɡ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like thug /θ/ vs /t/

Freq #11809

Meanings

1

verb
To pull something hard, often with a quick or repeated movement.

The child tugged at her mother's sleeve to get her attention.
2

verb
To pull or drag something heavy with great effort.

The police officers tugged the drunken man out of the pub.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to pull something hard,... pull yank

2 verb · to pull or drag something... drag haul

Word family

Forms tuggedtuggingtugs

Derived forms heart-tuggingtugboat

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Don't tug on Superman's cape

Etymology

From Middle English tuggen, toggen, from Old English togian (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, 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 tow.

*dewk- Proto-Indo-European tuggen Middle English togian Old English *togōn Proto-West Germanic *tugōną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Maritime & Sailing Actions & Processes

External links

# tug

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /tʌɡ/
**Frequency rank:** 11809

## Meanings
1. To pull something hard, often with a quick or repeated movement.
2. To pull or drag something heavy with great effort.

## Examples
- The child tugged at her mother's sleeve to get her attention.
- The police officers tugged the drunken man out of the pub.

## Derived Forms
- heart-tugging
- tugboat

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dewk-
- Root: tuggen
- Root: togian
- Root: *togōn
- Root: *tugōną

## Etymology
From Middle English tuggen, toggen, from Old English togian (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, 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 tow.

## AI Etymology
Tug is from Middle English tuggen, toggen, from Old English togian (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, 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 tow. In present-day use, it can mean to pull something hard, often with a quick or repeated movement, or to pull or drag something heavy with great effort. Derived formations include heart-tugging, tugboat.

## Topics
- Maritime & Sailing
- Actions & Processes

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tug