1
: a physical contest or struggle : scuffle
2
: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle
Synonyms
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
Graham Hurley, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
Mexico City may have been celebrating the Day of The Dead on Sunday, but the title tussle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is alive and kicking.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
Fiennes and Berger tussled briefly over Cardinal Lawrence’s costume after Fiennes met with the British cardinal.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tussle 
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Noun
The tussle on the Milwaukee-to-Dallas-Fort Worth flight is the latest example of apparent air passenger misbehavior – a problem that’s worsened for airlines since before the pandemic, with at least 1,854 incidents reported this year to the Federal Aviation Administration.
—Graham Hurley, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
Mexico City may have been celebrating the Day of The Dead on Sunday, but the title tussle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is alive and kicking.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Verb
Indeed, Americans have been tussling over the time warp for well over a century now.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
Fiennes and Berger tussled briefly over Cardinal Lawrence’s costume after Fiennes met with the British cardinal.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tussle
Dictionary Entries Near tussle
Cite this Entry
“Tussle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tussle. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tussle
2 of 2 noun1
: a physical contest or struggle
2
: a rough argument or a struggle against difficult odds
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