1
: a physical contest or struggle : scuffle
2
: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle

tussle

2 of 2

verb

intransitive verb

: to struggle roughly : scuffle

Examples of tussle in a Sentence

Noun The suspect was arrested after a tussle with a security guard. a tussle for control of the company The President is in for another tussle with Congress. Verb Two players tussled for the ball. The residents of the neighborhood tussled with city hall for years about the broken parking meters.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
These choices involved a tussle with the director, who was not Marla but another of the company’s frequent collaborators. Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025 The tussle over the leader of the Catholic church’s childhood home presents a uniquely American clash, according to legal experts and scholars, over the nation’s near sacrosanct beliefs in property rights enshrined by the Constitution. Michael Loria, USA Today, 18 June 2025
Verb
These issues cost the Democrats in last year’s elections and Newsom is pushing the party to the left of positions many of its candidates took during that campaign. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) tussled with security after trying to interrupt remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025 Fans started tussling on Thursday, the first night of the Cowboy Carter Tour‘s six-show stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for tussle

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English (Scots) tussillen, frequentative of Middle English -tusen, -tousen to tousle — more at touse

First Known Use

Noun

1629, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1638, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tussle was in 1629

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tussle. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

tussle

1 of 2 verb
tussled; tussling
ˈtəs-(ə-)liŋ

tussle

2 of 2 noun
1
: a physical contest or struggle
2
: a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds

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