A tussle is a brief, physical struggle or fight, usually not too serious or dangerous. When two friends tussle over who gets the last slice of pizza, they might playfully push and pull at each other. When puppies tussle on the lawn, they tumble over each other, nipping and wrestling without really hurting one another.

The word suggests energy and movement but rarely means a genuinely violent fight. A tussle is more scramble than battle. Two kids might tussle for control of a soccer ball during recess, or siblings might tussle over the TV remote. There's usually some grabbing, pushing, or wrestling involved, but nothing that causes real harm.

You can also use tussle to describe non-physical struggles. A student might have a tussle with a difficult math problem, working hard to solve it. A mayor might face a tussle with the city council over a new policy, going back and forth in debate. In these cases, tussle captures that sense of effortful back-and-forth struggle, even when no one's actually wrestling.