Tug v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tugged p. pr. & vb. n. Tugging.]
1. 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.
There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar. --Roscommon.
2. To pull; to pluck. [Obs.]
To ease the pain,
His tugged cars suffered with a strain. --Hudibras.
tug
n 1: a sudden abrupt pull [syn: jerk]
2: a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships
[syn: tugboat, towboat, tower]
v 1: pull hard; "The prisoner tugged at the chains"; "This movie
tugs at the heart strings"
2: strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for
years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little
to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her
doctoral thesis" [syn: labor, labour, push, drive]
3: tow (a vessel) with a tug; "The tugboat tugged the freighter
into the harbor"
4: carry with difficulty; "You'll have to lug this suitcase"
[syn: lug, tote]
5: move by pulling hard; "The horse finally tugged the cart out
of the mud"
6: pull or strain hard at; "Each oar was tugged by several men"
7: struggle in opposition; "She tugged and wrestled with her
conflicts"
[also: tugging, tugged]