What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Tug vs Tuck - What's the difference?

tug | tuck |

In transitive terms the difference between tug and tuck

is that tug is to tow by tugboat while tuck is to push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe or somewhat hidden.

tug

English

Verb

(tugg)
  • to pull or drag with great effort
    • The police officers tugged the drunkard out of the pub.
  • to pull hard repeatedly
    • He lost his patience trying to undo his shoe-lace, but tugging it made the knot even tighter.
  • to tow by tugboat

    • Derived terms

    * tug down * tug up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • a sudden powerful pull
  • * Dryden
    • At the tug he falls, / Vast ruins come along, rent from the smoking walls.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 24 , author=David Ornstein , title=Arsenal 3 - 0 Bolton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=But Van Persie slotted home 40 seconds after the break before David Wheater saw red for a tug on Theo Walcott.}}
  • (nautical) a tugboat
  • (obsolete) A kind of vehicle used for conveying timber and heavy articles.
    • (Halliwell)
  • A trace, or drawing strap, of a harness.
  • (mining) An iron hook of a hoisting tub, to which a tackle is affixed.
  • (slang) An act of masturbation
    • He had a quick tug to calm himself down before his date.

    Derived terms

    * tug of war

    Anagrams

    * ----

    tuck

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) . More at touch.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (lb) To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).
  • (lb) To push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe or somewhat hidden.
  • :
  • *
  • *:It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue; motor, brougham, and victoria swept by on the glittering current; pretty women glanced out from limousine and tonneau; young men of his own type, silk-hatted, frock-coated, the crooks of their walking sticks tucked up under their left arms, passed on the Park side.
  • (lb) To fit neatly.
  • :
  • To curl into a ball; to fold up and hold one's legs.
  • :
  • To sew folds; to make a tuck or tucks in.
  • :
  • To full, as cloth.
  • To conceal one’s genitals, as with a gaff or by fastening them down with adhesive tape.
  • :
  • (lb) To keep the thumb in position while moving the rest of the hand over it to continue playing keys that are outside the thumb.
    • Antonyms
    * untuck
    Derived terms
    * tuck away * tuck in * tuck into * nip and tuck

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act of tucking ; a pleat or fold.
  • (sewing) A fold in fabric that has been stitched in place from end to end, as to reduce the overall dimension of the fabric piece.
  • A curled position.
  • (medicine, surgery) A plastic surgery technique to remove excess skin.
  • (music, piano, when playing scales on piano keys) The act of keeping the thumb in position while moving the rest of the hand over it to continue playing keys that are outside the thumb.
  • (diving) A curled position, with the shins held towards the body.
    • Related terms
    * tucker

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (archaic) A rapier, a sword.
  • * 1663 , (Hudibras) , by (Samuel Butler), part 1,
    • [...] with force he labour'd / To free's blade from retentive scabbard; / And after many a painful pluck, / From rusty durance he bail'd tuck [...]
    (Shakespeare)
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • He wore large hose, and a tuck , as it was then called, or rapier, of tremendous length.

    Etymology 3

    Compare tocsin.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The beat of a drum.

    • Etymology 4

    (etyl) .

    Noun

    (-)
  • Food, especially snack food.
    • Derived terms
    * tuck shop * tuck box * tuck in ----