tug
/ˈtʌɡ/verb, noun
tug is spelled T-U-G: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, tug means “To pull or drag with great effort” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tug?
| Letters | 3: T-U-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tug?
Tug appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tug?
- US /ˈtʌɡ/
- US [ˈtʰʌɡ]
- Australia /ˈtɐɡ/
Tug has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-tug.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tug?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tug from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɡ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gut.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tug
- tugs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- tugging participle, present
- tugged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tug mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To pull or drag with great effort.
The police officers tugged the drunkard out of the pub.
- 2
To pull hard repeatedly.
He lost his patience trying to undo his shoe-lace, but tugging it made the knot even tighter.
- 3
To tow by tugboat.
- 4
slangTo masturbate.
noun
- 1
A sudden powerful pull.
- 2
A tugboat.
- 3
A type of tractor used for moving trailers.
- 4
obsoleteA kind of vehicle used for conveying timber and heavy articles.
- 5
A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.
- 6
A dog toy consisting of a rope, often with a knot in it.
- 7
An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.
- 8
slangAn act of male masturbation.
He had a quick tug to calm himself down before his date.
- 9
UKslangA foundationer or colleger at Eton.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tug in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tirer , remorquer , tirement , tug |
| German | zerren , schleppen , Ruck , Zerrspielzeug |
| Spanish | tirar, halar, jalar , remolcar , tironear, jalonear |
| Portuguese | rebocar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tug come from?
From Middle English tuggen, from Old English togian (“to tow”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (“to draw, pull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull; to lead”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).