Pronunciation: (tug), [key]
—v., tugged, tug•ging,
1. to pull at with force, vigor, or effort.
2. to move by pulling forcibly; drag; haul.
3. to tow (a vessel) by means of a tugboat.
1. to pull with force or effort: to tug at a stuck drawer.
2. to strive hard; labor; toil.
1. an act or instance of tugging; pull; haul.
2. a strenuous contest between opposing forces, groups, or persons; struggle: the tug of young minds in a seminar.
4. that by which something is tugged, as a rope or chain.
5. (on a harness)
a. trace2 (def. 1).
b. any of various supporting or pulling parts.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.