Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To try to throw or immobilize another person, especially by gripping with the hands.
  • intransitive verb To engage in the sport of wrestling.
  • intransitive verb To struggle to move or control something with the hands.
  • intransitive verb To struggle in trying to manage, control, or deal with something.
  • intransitive verb To try to throw or immoblize (someone); wrestle with.
  • intransitive verb To take part in a wrestling match with (someone).
  • intransitive verb To take part in (a wrestling match).
  • intransitive verb To move or lift with great effort and force.
  • intransitive verb To taken (something) away from another by gripping and pulling.
  • intransitive verb To throw (a calf or other animal) for branding.
  • noun The act or a bout of wrestling.
  • noun A struggle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • l. To twist or wind about; especially, to writhe; wriggle; squirm; struggle, as with the limbs.
  • To struggle in a hand-to-hand contest; strive, as for some advantage or for mastery, with bodily strength and adroitness; specifically, to struggle, as two persons striving to throw each other to the ground, especially in a contest governed by certain fixed rules.
  • To contend in any way, as in a struggle for mastery; maintain opposition or resistance, especially against a moral foe or force; strive.
  • To deal, as with a troublesome duty; apply one's self vigorously; grapple: as, to wrestle with a knotty problem; to wrestle with a distasteful task.
  • Hence, to devote one's self earnestly to prayer; pray.
  • To contend with in wrestling: as, I will wrestle you for so much.
  • On a cattle-range, to throw for the purpose of branding, as an animal.
  • noun A bout at wrestling; a wrestling-match.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A struggle between two persons to see which will throw the other down; a bout at wrestling; a wrestling match; a struggle.
  • transitive verb To wrestle with; to seek to throw down as in wrestling.
  • intransitive verb To contend, by grappling with, and striving to trip or throw down, an opponent.
  • intransitive verb Hence, to struggle; to strive earnestly; to contend.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A wrestling bout.
  • noun A struggle.
  • verb intransitive To contend, with an opponent, by grappling and attempting to throw, immobilize or otherwise defeat him, depending on the specific rules of the contest
  • verb intransitive To struggle or strive
  • verb transitive To take part in a wrestling match with someone
  • verb transitive To move or lift something with difficulty
  • verb transitive To throw a calf etc in order to brand it
  • verb transitive To fight

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
  • verb engage in a wrestling match
  • verb engage in deep thought, consideration, or debate
  • verb to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
  • verb combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English wrestlen, from Old English *wrǣstlian, frequentative of wrǣstan, to twist; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Herbert is afraid that the campaign will be "undermined by the usual madness," and he urges the candidates to "wrestle" -- but only metaphorically:

    Grave but Not Serious 2008

  • When big recording stars like the B-52's, Rosanne Cash and Salt-N-Pepa come together to make a benefit album, major labels wrestle for the chance to issue it, right?

    When Politics Doesn't Play 2008

  • But I will say, the very last time I watched Chris wrestle, which is only a few weeks ago, I made a mental note in my head when I was watching him work that he didn ` t seem to have that light in his eyes.

    CNN Transcript Jun 29, 2007 2007

  • But I will say that the very last time I watched Chris wrestle, which is only a few weeks ago, I made a mental note in my head when I was watching him work that he didn ` t seem to have that light in his eyes.

    CNN Transcript Jul 2, 2007 2007

  • But he turned suddenly sick, and, although he afterwards recalled a wrestle, knee to knee, the first thing he was aware of was the cold waters of the river closing over him.

    Alec Forbes of Howglen George MacDonald 1864

  • "I feel like I can go out there and wrestle the way I want to wrestle, which is a hard pace the whole time and hustling in all positions," he said.

    Iowa City Press-Citizen - Hawkeye Sports 2010

  • He can also wrestle, which is the reason for his victory over Benavidez last August.

    SI.com 2010

  • They still don't have anyone who can wrestle, which is a problem, but hopefully they can continue to stretch this out until it becomes a necessity to get the

    PWTorch.com 2010

  • This blows by super-fast, but if you watch Hardison fight, he gets punched early, and after that he's mainly tying the guy up with his longer reach, kind of wrestle-grappling.

    LEVERAGE: The Second David Job Rogers 2009

  • COOPER: But, David Gergen, he did sort of leave it up to Congress to kind of wrestle with the more difficult matters on stem cell?

    CNN Transcript Mar 9, 2009 2009

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