Definition

1. Noun:
   • A combat sport: "wrestling" is a sport where two unarmed opponents grapple with each other, using holds and leverage to try to pin the other's shoulders to the mat or otherwise gain a victory according to the rules.
   • The act of wrestling: "wrestling" can also refer to the physical act of struggling hand-to-hand in a close fight, which may not be in a formal sporting context.

Examples

• Noun:
  • Olympic wrestling requires immense strength and technique.
  • The wrestling match was intense and lasted for ten minutes.
  • We could hear the sounds of wrestling coming from the boys' room.

Advanced Usage

• "to be in wrestling": to be involved in the sport of wrestling.
  • He has been in wrestling since he was a child.
• "a wrestling with": a figurative struggle with a difficult problem or concept.
  • Her essay describes her personal wrestling with the philosophical ideas.

Variants and Related Words

• Wrestle (verb): to engage in the sport or act of wrestling.
  • The two brothers often wrestle on the living room floor.
• Wrestler (noun): a person who takes part in wrestling, especially as a sport.
  • The wrestler trained for six hours every day.

Synonyms

• Grappling: the act of seizing and struggling with an opponent.
• Struggling: engaging in a forceful effort to get free or to overcome an opponent.

Related Phrases

• Professional wrestling: A form of sports entertainment that combines athleticism with theatrical performance and pre-determined outcomes.
  • Professional wrestling is very popular as a television spectacle.
• Arm wrestling: A type of sport or contest in which two people grip hands and try to force each other's arm down onto a surface.
  • They settled the argument with an arm wrestling contest.

Related Idioms

• "A wrestling match": can be used figuratively to describe any difficult, prolonged struggle or negotiation.
  • The budget debate in parliament turned into a real wrestling match.

Noun

1. the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down
2. the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat
   • they had a fierce wrestle
   • we watched his grappling and wrestling with the bully