tug

Pronunciation: /tʌɡ/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a sudden abrupt pull
  2. noun a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships
  3. verb pull hard

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

jerk

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
pull

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