What does wrestle mean?
Wrestle most directly denotes a contest of grappling in which participants use strength and leverage to gain control. The verb can also be transitive: one wrestler may wrestle an opponent, although “wrestle with an opponent” is common in general prose. Figuratively, “wrestle with” is a standard way to describe struggling to understand, decide, control, or cope with something difficult. It often suggests that the problem resists easy resolution, as in wrestling with a technical question or a moral dilemma. The term is neutral in register and familiar in both British and American English, though in figurative contexts it can carry a slightly dramatic tone because contest imagery is extended into ordinary situations. Wrestle is especially useful when an obstacle demands sustained effort rather than a quick solution. Its history also gives it a vivid physical character: the word grew from Old English forms associated with twisting and turning before developing into the familiar language of physical and intellectual struggle.
verbTo engage in a contest of grappling or physical struggle; by extension, to struggle persistently with a difficult problem, choice, or opposing force.
- To engage in physical grappling or a wrestling contest.
- To struggle persistently with a difficult problem, decision, emotion, or opposing force.
"She had to wrestle with the unfamiliar controls before the machine began to respond."
"The two wrestlers circled each other before he decided to grapple with his opponent."
"The committee is still wrestling with how to balance cost against the need for greater access."
Wrestle traces back to an Old English word associated with twisting and turning, giving even its modern physical sense a gripping, energetic quality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wrestle
The verb developed in Middle English in forms such as wrestlen and wrestle, drawing on Old English wræstan, associated with twisting or turning. Related Germanic forms in Old Norse and Danish concern stretching or twisting, while the English words wrest, wrist, and writhe belong to the same broader etymological family. The older emphasis on gripping and turning eventually developed into the modern meanings of grappling physically and contending with difficulty.
Related word forms
How wrestle is actually used
The word is neutral in register and widely used in British and American English. Its figurative sense often implies that something resists easy resolution, so it may sound slightly more dramatic than a neutral verb such as “handle.”
Easily confused with wrestle
To wrestle is to grapple or struggle, whereas to wrest something from someone means to wrench or take it away forcibly.