tug-of-war
noun
plural tugs-of-war
1
: a struggle for supremacy or control usually involving two antagonists
2
: a contest in which two teams pull against each other at opposite ends of a rope with the object of pulling the middle of the rope over a mark on the ground
Synonyms
Examples of tug-of-war in a Sentence
the effort to get their teenage son to keep his room clean is a constant tug-of-war
Recent Examples on the Web
As the price of a carton continues to soar, interest in egg substitutes has also never been higher as folks everywhere continue to grapple with a grocery tug-of-war: to shell out (sorry) a whole bunch of cash for your regular food order, or to find something else to fill that eggy void.
—
Audrey Bruno, SELF, 20 Feb. 2025
Having a conversation without a clear objective is like a verbal tug-of-war.
—Jason Walker Psyd, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
The production made news last week when producers disclosed that the show’s title on the marquee would not be lit in time for the first performance, and possibly until next month, due to the LED bulbs being stuck in China, a victim of the Trump-China tariff tug-of-war.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Greenland is in footballing Siberia, so to speak, and geopolitically it has been thrust into a bizarre tug-of-war between the United States and Greenland’s government.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
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Audrey Bruno, SELF, 20 Feb. 2025
Having a conversation without a clear objective is like a verbal tug-of-war.
—Jason Walker Psyd, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
The production made news last week when producers disclosed that the show’s title on the marquee would not be lit in time for the first performance, and possibly until next month, due to the LED bulbs being stuck in China, a victim of the Trump-China tariff tug-of-war.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2025
Greenland is in footballing Siberia, so to speak, and geopolitically it has been thrust into a bizarre tug-of-war between the United States and Greenland’s government.
—Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for tug-of-war
Dictionary Entries Near tug-of-war
Cite this Entry
“Tug-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tug-of-war. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
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