Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To quarrel noisily or angrily. synonym: argue.
  • intransitive verb To grasp and maneuver something.
  • intransitive verb To attempt to deal with or understand something; contend or struggle.
  • intransitive verb To win or obtain by argument.
  • intransitive verb To manage or herd (horses or cattle).
  • intransitive verb To manage or control (something, especially an animal), as on a movie set.
  • intransitive verb To grasp and maneuver (something); wrestle.
  • noun The act of wrangling.
  • noun An angry, noisy argument or dispute.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An angry dispute; a noisy quarrel.
  • noun Synonyms Squabble, Altercation, etc. (see quarrel), controversy.
  • To dispute; argue noisily or in a quarrelsome manner; brawl; altercate.
  • To engage in discussion and disputation; argue, debate; hence, formerly, in some universities, to dispute publicly; defend or oppose a thesis by argument.
  • Synonyms To bicker, spar, jangle. See quarrel, n.
  • To contest or dispute, especially in the usually brawling manner of the schools.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obsolete To argue; to debate; to dispute.
  • intransitive verb To dispute angrily; to quarrel peevishly and noisily; to brawl; to altercate.
  • transitive verb rare To involve in a quarrel or dispute; to embroil.
  • noun An angry dispute; a noisy quarrel; a squabble; an altercation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to bicker, or quarrel angrily and noisily
  • verb transitive to herd horses or other livestock
  • noun An act of wrangling
  • noun An angry dispute

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb to quarrel noisily, angrily or disruptively
  • verb herd and care for
  • noun an instance of intense argument (as in bargaining)
  • noun an angry dispute

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English wranglen, of Middle Low German origin; see wer- in Indo-European roots. V., tr., sense 2, back-formation from wrangler, cowhand in charge of horses, horse herder.]

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Examples

  • Today, I went to the Hartford pet expo to help my mom and thecoughlin wrangle briards.

    titties and beer. titties and beer. titties and beer. thecoughlin 2009

  • Besides, 'you see it on Animal Planet,' said Kemp, who watched the late Steve Irwin wrangle such beasts on the 'Crocodile Hunter.'

    Archive 2007-06-24 Bill Crider 2007

  • But, as pointed out in a recent Maclean's article, Canada's constitutional wrangle is just as bad as it sounds.

    Recovery and the Canada Round: A Manitoba Perspective 1992

  • A hearing is scheduled for April 25 and this arcane legal wrangle, which is still unresolved, may have the perverse effect of delaying the execution.

    The Tortuous Tale Of A Serial Killer 2008

  • The wrangle was a long one, but the argument of the fist eventually brought it to a close, and Maggie was obliged again to shut herself into her room.

    Spring Days 1892

  • A wrangle is the disinclination to each other of two boarders that meet together, but are not on the same floor.

    Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8 Elbert Hubbard 1885

  • Once again, it's time for us to round up - nay, 'wrangle' - the funniest picture captions that our dear Twitter followers came up with this week.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Andrea Mann 2012

  • The wrangle is the latest issue over which Unitech and Telenor have been at odds.

    unknown title 2012

  • This reminds me of your well- and frequently-voiced concern that the Hillary campaign would be able to "wrangle" the bloggers to their own advantage.

    A frightening mix of bodily fluids. Ann Althouse 2007

  • Baldilocks has never tried to "wrangle" me, unless posts like this are supposed to relate to me.

    Free Exercise 2005

Comments

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  • Now herons call

    And wrangle by their pool; and hooting owls

    Sail from the wood above pale stooks of oats.

    - Siegfried Sassoon, Falling Asleep

    March 18, 2008