wrangled; wrangling
ˈraŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to dispute angrily or peevishly : bicker
2
: to engage in argument or controversy
1
: to obtain by persistent arguing or maneuvering : wangle
2
[back-formation from wrangler]
: to herd and care for (livestock and especially horses) on the range
1
: an angry, noisy, or prolonged dispute or quarrel
2
: the action or process of wrangling
Synonyms
Examples of wrangle in a Sentence
Verb
They were wrangling over money.
He made a living wrangling horses.
Noun
They had a bitter wrangle over custody of their children.
there was a bit of a wrangle over how much money to give the high school for its sports programs
Recent Examples on the Web
Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The city has wrangled over prevailing wage rules for months.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024
After five days of wrangling among the board, company executives and OpenAI’s investors, Altman was reinstated as CEO and three of the four board members who fired him stepped down.
—Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Utah center John Collins wrangled the first rebound, but Lauri Markkanen missed the go-ahead bucket on the other end from 3.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2024
The company has wrangled with Backcountry Against Dumps before.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024
Pichai and others have been saying AI is the future for some time but have preached patience as the company tries to wrangle and improve all this nascent technology.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
While one parent wrangles the kid outside, the other can wrap uneaten food and take care of the bill.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
Before that call, Emanuel went so far as to wrangle Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos into a private screening of the film, trying (but failing) to convince Bezos to intervene on Silver and Liman’s behalf.
—Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
There were other obstacles to battle past such as complicated contractual wrangles and piracy problems to secure their master tapes sold to a former manager and Zambia Music Parlour.
—Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024
Husband and father Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) uproots an oversized Christmas tree, decorates his house with enough lights to cause a citywide power outage, and wrangles annoying family members, all in the hope of forcing a perfect, magical Christmas where nothing goes wrong.
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
Read Next Watch snake catcher wrangle one of world’s most venomous snakes from roof in Australia
January 19, 2024 12:40 PM
This story was originally published January 22, 2024, 10:47 AM.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Edward Lucas, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, wrote on Sunday that petty wrangles over rules had spiraled out of control.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
But the president’s message was much broader than the wrangle over funding, and his real target was the American public.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2023
Congressional reporters tracked the interns’ progress on Twitter, now known as X.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) offered to help the group wrangle Senate leadership.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 31 July 2023
While Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter could be a strong consideration here, there's still a case for Wilson, who can deploy his massive 6-6, 271-pound frame to push the pocket or wrangle running backs in the backfield.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2023
Verb
Mortgage rates are being buoyed both by stubborn inflation that came in hotter than expected at 3.2% in February, thanks in large part to shelter and gasoline prices, and the Federal Reserve’s attempt to wrangle it down to a 2% target.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
The city has wrangled over prevailing wage rules for months.
—The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024
After five days of wrangling among the board, company executives and OpenAI’s investors, Altman was reinstated as CEO and three of the four board members who fired him stepped down.
—Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Utah center John Collins wrangled the first rebound, but Lauri Markkanen missed the go-ahead bucket on the other end from 3.
—Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2024
The company has wrangled with Backcountry Against Dumps before.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2024
Pichai and others have been saying AI is the future for some time but have preached patience as the company tries to wrangle and improve all this nascent technology.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
While one parent wrangles the kid outside, the other can wrap uneaten food and take care of the bill.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
Before that call, Emanuel went so far as to wrangle Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos into a private screening of the film, trying (but failing) to convince Bezos to intervene on Silver and Liman’s behalf.
—Benjamin Svetkey, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2024
Noun
As opponents to the development tell it, the current wrangle began on Oct. 12, several hours before the City Council approved the plan.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
There were other obstacles to battle past such as complicated contractual wrangles and piracy problems to secure their master tapes sold to a former manager and Zambia Music Parlour.
—Tracy Kawalik, SPIN, 5 Mar. 2024
Husband and father Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) uproots an oversized Christmas tree, decorates his house with enough lights to cause a citywide power outage, and wrangles annoying family members, all in the hope of forcing a perfect, magical Christmas where nothing goes wrong.
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
Read Next Watch snake catcher wrangle one of world’s most venomous snakes from roof in Australia
January 19, 2024 12:40 PM
This story was originally published January 22, 2024, 10:47 AM.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Edward Lucas, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, wrote on Sunday that petty wrangles over rules had spiraled out of control.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2023
But the president’s message was much broader than the wrangle over funding, and his real target was the American public.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2023
Congressional reporters tracked the interns’ progress on Twitter, now known as X.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) offered to help the group wrangle Senate leadership.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 31 July 2023
While Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter could be a strong consideration here, there's still a case for Wilson, who can deploy his massive 6-6, 271-pound frame to push the pocket or wrangle running backs in the backfield.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wrangle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to wrangle
Dictionary Entries Near wrangle
Cite this Entry
“Wrangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrangle. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share