wrestle
/ˈresl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈresl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈre-səl ˈra-/ (ame, mw)
wrestle — verb
1. to take part in a sport or fight in which two people hold each other's bodies an
to take part in a sport or fight in which two people hold each other's bodies and try to force each other to fall to the ground
Sayaka wrestled her older brother for fun in the backyard every Sunday afternoon.
wrestle + someone + for + reason
The two athletes will wrestle each other in the championship match next weekend.
wrestle + each other (reciprocal)
Noa joined the school wrestling club and learned how to wrestle safely using proper holds.
Chidi watched his younger sisters wrestle playfully on the living room carpet after dinner.
Olivia wrestled in three state-level competitions during her final year of high school.
文法句型
wrestle + someone (now she will wrestle the champion)
wrestle + with + someone (he wrestled with his brother)
wrestle + for + prize (they wrestled for the gold medal)
用法筆記
This sense can be used either transitively (wrestle someone) or intransitively (wrestle with someone). In competitive sports contexts, the transitive form is more common.
常見錯誤
2. to use a lot of physical effort to move or control something that is heavy, awkw
to use a lot of physical effort to move or control something that is heavy, awkward, or hard to handle
Mert wrestled with the old sofa for an hour before getting it through the doorway.
wrestle with + object for + duration
Ezra wrestled the heavy suitcase onto the luggage rack above his seat on the train.
wrestle + object + onto + place
The movers wrestled the piano down the narrow stairs one careful step at a time.
Camille wrestled with the sticky jar lid until she finally heard a popping sound.
Tanvi wrestled the tangled garden hose back into a neat coil before storing it away.
文法句型
wrestle + with + something heavy/difficult (he wrestled with the suitcase)
wrestle + object + into/onto + place (she wrestled the box onto the shelf)
用法筆記
Unlike sense 1 (PHYSICAL SPORT), this sense is almost always intransitive and takes 'with' before the object, or uses a transitive pattern with a directional particle (into, onto, through).
常見錯誤
3. to try hard for some time to solve a problem, answer a question, or make a diffi
to try hard for some time to solve a problem, answer a question, or make a difficult personal choice
Eliska wrestled with the maths problem for two hours before finding the correct answer.
wrestle with + problem + for + duration
The committee wrestled over the budget cuts late into the night without reaching an agreement.
wrestle over + decision matter
Sofia wrestled with her conscience after discovering that her friend had cheated on the exam.
Lan wrestled with whether to accept the job offer in a different country.
The novelist wrestled for months with the opening chapter before finally finding the right tone.
- accept
to stop resisting and agree, the opposite of wrestling with a decision
文法句型
wrestle + with + a problem/question (she wrestled with the difficult question)
wrestle + over + a decision (they wrestled over whether to move abroad)
用法筆記
This is the most common sense of 'wrestle' in everyday language. It is always intransitive and takes 'with' or 'over'. The subject is typically a person or group; the object of the struggle is an abstract thing such as a problem, question, decision, or moral issue.
wrestle — noun
1. a difficult physical fight in which two people try to throw each other to the gr
a difficult physical fight in which two people try to throw each other to the ground, or a hard effort to deal with a problem or task
Two boys had a brief wrestle on the grass before their mother called them in.
have a wrestle — common light-scenario collocation
Moving the old washing machine upstairs was a real wrestle for Sari and her dad.
turned into a wrestle — describing a difficult task
The budget meeting became a long wrestle between spenders and those wanting to save.
It was a real wrestle to get the toddler into his pyjamas after his bath.
文法句型
a wrestle + with + something (a wrestle with the suitcase)
a wrestle + to-infinitive (it was a wrestle to get there)
用法筆記
As a countable noun, 'a wrestle' describes a single instance of struggling physically or metaphorically. It is much less common than the verb form and often appears in informal contexts.