wrestling

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A sport in which two competitors attempt to throw or immobilize each other by grappling.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act of trying to throw another person to the ground; the act of two persons contending which shall throw the other to the ground and overpower him. Wrestling, as a game subject to special rules, is of great antiquity. It was held in high esteem by the Greeks, and their youth were taught it by special masters as part of the public education. In its highest and simplest form it was the fifth of the five tests of the pentathlon. In this contest the wrestlers wrestled standing and naked, any hold being allowed, and three falls constituting victory. Wrestling, in combination with boxing, formed the arduous and dangerous contest known as the pancratium—a contest much more resembling a fight to a finish than an athletic contest. A third form of wrestling, which does not seem to have come down to modern times, consisted in interlocking the fingers, pushing the palms of the hands together, and twisting the joints and wrists, without the assistance of any other member or of any hold of the body. The highest and purest form of Greek wrestling does not appear to have been transplanted to Rome, although the more contentious and cruel pancratium—a sport more nearly allied to the Roman gladiatorial spirit—was introduced there by Caligula, and became very popular.

Wiktionary

1. v. present participle of wrestle.
2. n. A sport where two opponents attempt to subdue each other in bare-handed grappling using techniques of leverage, holding, and pressure points.
3. n. A professional tumbling act that emulates the sport of wrestling. Also called "professional wrestling". It is distinguished from sport wrestling -- which has strict internationally recognized rules and is conducted on a mat -- by being scripted, rehearsed, conducted in a boxing ring rather than on a mat, and programmed as entertainment.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Act of one who wrestles; specif., the sport consisting of the hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants who seek to throw each other.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the sport of hand-to-hand struggle between unarmed contestants who try to throw each other down
2. n. the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat