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Tug   /təg/   Listen
noun
Tug  n.  
1.
A pull with the utmost effort, as in the athletic contest called tug of war; a supreme effort. "At the tug he falls, Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls."
2.
A sort of vehicle, used for conveying timber and heavy articles. (Prov. Eng.)
3.
(Naut.) A small, powerful steamboat used to tow vessels; called also steam tug, tugboat, and towboat.
4.
A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.
5.
(Mining.) An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.
Tug iron, an iron hook or button to which a tug or trace may be attached, as on the shaft of a wagon.


verb
Tug  v. t.  (past & past part. tugged; pres. part. 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."
2.
To pull; to pluck. (Obs.) "To ease the pain, His tugged cars suffered with a strain."


Tug  v. i.  
1.
To pull with great effort; to strain in labor; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream. "He tugged, he shook, till down they came."
2.
To labor; to strive; to struggle. "England now is left To tug and scamble and to part by the teeth The unowed interest of proud-swelling state."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Tug" Quotes from Famous Books



... whom no program had been made. There was a storm outside, and the Holsatia anchored down the bay to wait until the worst was over. As the weather began to moderate Halstead and others came down in a tug for a final word of good-by. When the tug left, Halstead somehow managed to get overlooked, and was presently on his way across the ocean with only such wardrobe as he had on, and what Bayard Taylor, a large man like himself, ...
— Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete - The Personal And Literary Life Of Samuel Langhorne Clemens • Albert Bigelow Paine
... had, drifted out into the main channel, and they only had time to hoist sail and get her under way. On the second occasion she had gone ashore, and barely escaped a pile of rocks. Fortunately it had been low tide, so when the water rose, a passing tug had pulled her off, undamaged. The anchor was too small, and his father had often spoken about getting a larger one. But this he had neglected to do, principally because of the expense. Had there been good anchorage at Beach Cove, ...
— Jess of the Rebel Trail • H. A. Cody
... some one go for a man. But Calthea Rose did not want a man. She was very proud of her abilities as a horsewoman, and she did not wish a man to behold her inferiority in emergencies of this sort. She therefore opposed the suggestion, and continued to pull and tug. ...
— The Squirrel Inn • Frank R. Stockton
... to cease their clamour at the horses and to exercise their strength upon the wheels. The driver alone urged the animals with his familiar voice; David himself heaved a powerful shoulder at the rear of the carriage, and with one harmonious tug the great vehicle rolled up on solid ground. The outriders ...
— Roads of Destiny • O. Henry
... driver came up, and with a tug at her mouth, backed her out of the line and drove off, leaving ...
— Black Beauty, Young Folks' Edition • Anna Sewell


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