wrestling

[ res-ling ]

noun

1. a sport in which two opponents struggle hand to hand in order to pin or press each other's shoulders to the mat or ground, with the style, rules, and regulations differing widely in amateur and professional matches. Compare catch-as-catch-can ( def 3 ), Greco-Roman ( def 3 ).
2. the act of a person who wrestles.

wrestling

/ ˈrɛslɪŋ /

noun

1. any of certain sports in which the contestants fight each other according to various rules governing holds and usually forbidding blows with the closed fist. The principal object is to overcome the opponent either by throwing or pinning him to the ground or by causing him to submit See freestyle Graeco-Roman sumo

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrestling¹

before 1100; Middle English; Old English wrǣstlunge. See wrestle, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

To fully understand them would mean wrestling with the effects of capitalism, white supremacy and misogyny.

From Salon

He is tactless, following Cohn into a restroom to beg for his help or scarfing down cheeseballs and talking about midget wrestling at an Atlantic City casino buffet.

From Salon

His victory has us wrestling with the question of how two such starkly different visions of the United States coexist.

From Los Angeles Times

"I was an incredibly sensitive kid, so when I lost on the football field or got pinned on the wrestling mat, I cried. Like, a lot. Even well into my high school years. I didn’t lose all that often but when I did, it devastated me."

From Salon

Bald, with jacked arms even at what must be nearly 70 years of age, he moved back and forth through the room like a cross between a wrestling coach and a monk, offering what amounted to spiritual guidance in profane language.

From Salon

Related Words

• judo
• karate