tug

nouns

a sudden abrupt pull

jerk, tug

a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships

towboat, tower, tug, tugboat

verbs

pull hard

"The prisoner tugged at the chains"; "This movie tugs at the heart strings"

tug

is derived from

tugger

is a type of (narrower)

direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes

"Her good looks attract the stares of many men"; "The ad pulled in many potential customers"; "This pianist pulls huge crowds"; "The store owner was happy that the ad drew in many new customers"

attract, draw, draw in, pull, pull in

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"

drive, labor, labour, push, tug

tow (a vessel) with a tug

"The tugboat tugged the freighter into the harbor"

tug

is derived from

tugger

is a type of (narrower)

drag behind

"Horses used to tow barges along the canal"

tow

carry with difficulty

"You'll have to lug this suitcase"

lug, tote, tug

move by pulling hard

"The horse finally tugged the cart out of the mud"

tug

is derived from

tugger

is a type of (narrower)

cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense

"Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"

displace, move

pull or strain hard at

"Each oar was tugged by several men"

tug

is a type of (narrower)

cause to move by pulling

"draw a wagon"; "pull a sled"

draw, force, pull

struggle in opposition

"She tugged and wrestled with her conflicts"

tug

is a type of (narrower)

be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight

"the tribesmen fought each other"; "Siblings are always fighting"; "Militant groups are contending for control of the country"

contend, fight, struggle