TUG, verb transitive [Latin duco. See Tow, to draw.] 1. To pull or draw with great effort; to drag along with continued exertion; to haul along. There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar. 2. To pull; to pluck. --To ease the pain His tugg'd ears suffer'd with a strain. TUG, verb intransitive To pull with great effort; as, to tug at the oar; to tug against the stream. 1. To labor; to strive; to struggle. They long wrestled and strenuously tugged for their liberty. [This is not elegant.] TUG, noun A pull with the utmost effort. At the tug he falls-- Vast ruins come along-- 1. A sort of carriage, used in some parts of England for conveying bavins or faggots and other things. 2. In some parts of New England, the traces of a harness are called tugs.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI