See Also: wrestle(medicine)
wrestle(1)(dictionary)
wrestle(2)(dictionary)
wrestle(dictionary)
Wrestle - Wrestling(gambling)

wrestle(2) (iou)



wrestle verb. .
[Old English (implied in WRESTLING), corresp. to Low Dutch word repr. by Northern Frisian wrassele, Middle Low German worstelen, wrostelen, Middle & mod. Dutch worstelen. See also WARSLE verb. Cf. WRAXLE.]
I. verb intrans.
Engage in the practice or sport of wrestling. (Foll. by with.) OE.
S. Wynter He wrestled with her savagely, trying to..bend her body to his will.
Contend resolutely with or against circumstances, natural forces, feelings, etc. ME.
P. Kurth They will try to persuade me [to become Catholic]. And I cannot. I must still wrestle. Time The..types who wrestled with their consciences over whether to serve their country in time of war.
b. Strive earnestly with God in prayer. E17.
a. Strive with difficulty to cope with a problem, task, etc.; struggle to do. LME.
F. Tuohy She was wrestling ineffectively with the key, which fitted badly into the lock. W. Boyd I spend befuddled hours wrestling with these arcane epistemological riddles. John Rogers She watched her mother..close the heavy..book and wrestle to get it into her bag.
b. Make one's way with effort. Freq. foll. by through. L16.
Twist or writhe about; wriggle, move sinuously. Now rare. LME.
II. verb trans.
Engage in (a wrestling bout or contest). LME.
Contend with (a person) in wrestling; overcome by, throw in, wrestling. E19.
Listener He rides horses, climbs mountains and wrassles Indian chiefs.
b. Throw (a calf) for branding. US dial. L19.
Drive or push (as) by wrestling; force from or out of (as) by wrestling; move (an object etc.) with laborious application of force, manhandle. E19.
T. C. Wolfe Maggie..had gone to court and wrestled the motherless boy from the sinful keeping of his father. A. Gray He picked up his mother and wrestled her out of the room. A. Lurie She hauls the bag off the conveyor and wrestles it into her cart.
With adverbs in specialized senses: wrestle down bring (an opponent) to the ground in wrestling; fig. suppress with a struggle. wrestle out go through or perform with struggle or effort.