wrestle
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehsuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɛsəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
“He wrestled all his life with his feeling of inferiority.”
intransitive
To grapple or otherwise contend with an opponent in order to throw or force them to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
transitive
To take part in (a wrestling bout or match).
transitive
Sometimes followed by down: to contend with or move (someone) into or out of a position by grappling; also, to overcome (someone) by grappling.
Engage in a wrestling match
“The children wrestled in the garden.”
intransitivefigurative
(archaic) Followed by with: to concern or occupy oneself closely, or deal with, a task, etc.
noun
countable
A fight or struggle between people during which they grapple or otherwise contend with each other in order to throw or force their opponent to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
countablefigurative
A situation in which people compete with each other; a contest, a struggle.
uncountablealso figurative
The action of contending or struggling.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Combat to overcome an opposing tendency or force
Used this way, wrestle is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He wrestled all his life with his feeling of inferiority.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Combat / grappleverb
“He wrestled all his life with his feeling of inferiority.”
Take / engageverb
“The children wrestled in the garden.”
More ways to use wrestle
- “The children wrestled in the garden.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat.
Combatant who tries to throw opponent to the ground.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A square ring in which wrestlers compete.
A hold used in the sport of wrestling.
A mat on which wrestling matches are conducted.
A match between wrestlers.
Wrestle in mud.
A wrestler who participates in sumo (a Japanese form of wrestling).
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: fight
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.