tug of war

noun

1. an athletic contest between two teams at opposite ends of a rope, each team trying to drag the other over a line.
2. a hard-fought, critical struggle for supremacy.

tug-of-war

noun

1. a contest in which two people or teams pull opposite ends of a rope in an attempt to drag the opposition over a central line
2. any hard struggle, esp between two equally matched factions

Word History and Origins

Origin of tug of war¹

1670–80 tug of war fordef 2; 1875–80 tug of war fordef 1

Idioms and Phrases

A struggle for supremacy, as in There's a constant political tug of war between those who favor giving more power to the states and those who want a strong federal government . Although there is an athletic contest also so named, in which participants holding either end of a rope try to pull each other across a dividing line, the present usage, first recorded in 1677, predates it by about two centuries. The noun tug itself means “a strenuous contest between two sides,” and war refers to fighting, either physical or figurative.

Example Sentences

“For far too long, we’ve changed our clocks in pursuit of daylight, while incurring public health and safety risks in the process. Committing to standard time has health benefits and allows us to end the biannual tug of war between our biological and alarm clocks,” said Dr. Alexander Ding, a trustee with the American Medical Assn., in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

Newsom energy package sparks tug of war in final hours of California legislative session.

From Los Angeles Times

Newsom energy package sparks tug of war in final hours of California legislative session.

From Los Angeles Times

Newsom energy package sparks tug of war in final hours of California legislative session.

From Los Angeles Times

"Basically, there is a tug of war between tumor and immune cells," Curtis said.

From Science Daily