EN

Synonyms for tug

22 synonyms
2 antonyms
4 meanings

verb
noun

Most common

pull drag lug train struggle effort

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Pull

pull, drag, lug, train, haul, tote, heave, draw dated

2. Labor

labor US, labour UK, struggle, effort, drive, strive, toil

Noun

1. Boat

boat, towboat, tower

2. Yank

yank, jerk, jerk-off, wank slang UK IE

Antonyms

All antonyms of tug →

Definitions

v. 1
To pull or drag with great effort.
The police officers tugged the drunkard out of the pub.
v. 2
To pull hard repeatedly.
He lost his patience trying to undo his shoe-lace, but tugging it made the knot even tighter.
n. 1
A sudden powerful pull.
n. 2
A tugboat.

Related words

Word family: tugman
Phrases: tug one's forelock rub and tug tug-of-war

Forms

Plural: tugs → boats, towboats, towers, yanks…
Past participle: tugged
e.g. tugged → pulled, dragged, lugged, trained…

Choose the right word

Tug or Draw?

To tug is to draw, or try to draw, a resisting object with a continuous straining motion; as, to tug at the oar.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

pull We need a new leader to pull our company together.
drag The Fates lead the willing, and drag the unwilling.
tote If you're going to puke, do it in the tote bag.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
tug		rising
pull		rising
drag		rising
tote		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: lug¹
4 letters: pull¹, draw¹, boat¹, drag¹, jerk¹, haul¹, tote¹, toil¹, yank¹, wank¹
5 letters: drive¹, train¹, labor², tower², heave¹
6 letters: effort², labour², strive¹
7 letters: towboat²
8 letters: struggle²

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (labor² = 2 syllables).