How to Use tug-of-war in a Sentence

tug-of-war

noun
  • There’s no tug-of-war with the ball.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Still the legal tug-of-war raged on.
    — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The corporate tug-of-war may drag on for months.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
  • Each song feels like a tug-of-war between the brain and the body, grief and glee.
    — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024
  • No courtroom tug-of-war over who gets the dog or the air fryer.
    — Ruhama Wolle, Glamour, 10 Apr. 2025
  • How to unsnarl the emotions that play tug-of-war with our souls?
    — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2025
  • Play non-aggressive games such as fetch rather than tug-of-war.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 12 Apr. 2024
  • The world that was in the palm of his hand was in a tug-of-war with the world on his shoulders.
    — Thomas Lennon, Variety, 31 Oct. 2023
  • The methods may have changed, but this is a familiar tug-of-war.
    — Stephen Mihm, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
  • The brain’s stress network operates like a game of tug-of-war.
    — Haley Weiss, Time, 13 June 2023
  • This is the 49ers’ third contract tug-of-war with Williams.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Wilson was in a tug-of-war with an ancient predator, and his arm was the rope.
    — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 16 Oct. 2024
  • This heat triggers a molecular tug-of-war.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 27 May 2026
  • Soon, promoters added drag races, small jumps, and gimmicks like tug-of-war.
    — Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Reagan wanted to play tug-of-war but knew to be careful with the baby.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • This is a tug-of-war battle between you and your little sibling.
    — Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Washington is close enough to make every result feel like a tug-of-war.
    — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • In fact, Io’s entire core is heated by this cosmic tug-of-war.
    — Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024
  • New product lines and business units create a tug-of-war for resources.
    — Hope Horner, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Events included dodgeball, tug-of-war and of course a flag football game.
    — Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2025
  • If there isn't tug-of-war at a sample sale, or a months-long research dive, does the piece still feel worthwhile?
    — Halie Lesavage, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 July 2023
  • The result is a kind of tug-of-war between two of the economy’s main pillars.
    — Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2023
  • In front of us, the sky splits, a wall of gray clouds thinning at the middle as if being pulled apart in a tug-of-war.
    — Colleen Hagerty, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2025
  • Every nucleus lives in a tense tug-of-war between two of nature’s forces.
    — Quanta Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Neither youngster seemed to be winning their morning game of tug-of-war over an empty feed bag.
    — Bennet Goldstein, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
  • Gingerbread is known to enjoy the games of Frisbee, tug-of-war and fetch.
    — Teryn Jones and, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
  • In addition, the tug-of-war over the Strait of Hormuz will drag on.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 21 June 2026
  • Said drawers are designed to open and close smoothly, so don’t worry about playing tug-of-war.
    — Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The middle schoolers then learned about the pulleys used for tree climbing by playing a game of tug-of-war.
    — Emily Sohn, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Kimmel's show was pulled off the air in September, which kicked off a brutal tug-of-war.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tug-of-war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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