push
noun/pʌʃ/
Etymology Probably French poche. See pouch.
push
verb/pʊʃ/ · [pʷʊʃ]
Etymology From Middle English pushen, poshen, posson, borrowed from Middle French pousser (Modern French pousser) from Old French poulser, from Latin pulsare (“to beat, strike”), frequentative of pellere (past participle pulsus). Doublet of pulsate and pulse (verb). Partly displaced native Old English sċūfan, whence Modern English shove.
16 senses
- 1To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away…
- 2To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a…
- 3To press or urge forward; to drive.
- 4To continually promote (a point of view, a product for…
- 5To continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal.
- 6To approach; to come close to.
- 7To tense the muscles in the abdomen in order to give…
- 8To continue to attempt to persuade a person into a…
- 9To make a higher bid at an auction.
- 10To make an all-in bet.
- 11To move (a pawn) directly forward.
- 12To add (a data item) to the top of a stack.
- 13To publish (an update, etc.) by transmitting it to other…
- 14To thrust the points of the horns against; to gore.
- 15To burst out of its pot, as a bud or shoot.
- 16To strike the cue ball in such a way that it stays in…
1
To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away from the person or thing applying the force.
- In his anger he pushed me against the wall and threatened me.
- You need to push quite hard to get this door open.
2
To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
- We are pushed for an answer.December 7, 1710, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner, Number 18
- December 22, 1711, letter to The Spectator Ambition […] pushes the soul to such actions as are apt to procure honour and reputation to the actor.
3
To press or urge forward; to drive.
- to push an objection too far; to push one's luck
- to push his fortune1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, stanza 133:
4
To continually promote (a point of view, a product for sale, etc.).
- Stop pushing the issue — I'm not interested.
- They're pushing that perfume again.
2 more examples
- There were two men hanging around the school gates today, pushing drugs.
- Earlier the premier had rejected outright suggestions, apparently being pushed by up to a third of the government’s 33-member caucus, that the government forget the deficit and launch a major public initiative to stimulate the economy.1982 December 11, Frances Russell, “Economic performance buoys Pawley’s position”, in The Vancouver Sun (The Weekend Sun), Vancouver, BC, page A6:
5
To continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal.
- Don't think that if you keep pushing harder and harder, it will make you succeed faster or earn more.2016, JoAnneh Nagler, How to be an artist without losing your mind, your shirt, or your creative compass, →ISBN, page 91:
- My old car is pushing 250,000 miles.
- He's pushing sixty.
2 more examples
- Don't be mad at me 'cause you're pushing thirty / And your old tricks no longer work2004, Amy Winehouse, Salaam Remi, “Fuck Me Pumps”, in Frank, performed by Amy Winehouse:
- “I'm pushing 40 and on TikTok,” he says. “I feel old every day.”2023 October 7, Ajesh Patalay, quoting Jon Kung, “The Naked Chef 2.0”, in FT Weekend (HTSI section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 77:
7
To tense the muscles in the abdomen in order to give birth or defecate.
- During childbirth, there are times when the obstetrician advises the woman not to push.
- “Pushing will be easy,” the nurse told me after I’d arrived at the hospital, […]. “For someone like you, you’ll be done in 30 minutes.” Instead, I pushed for four hours, ripping the muscle between my ass and my vagina in the process.2026 June 12, Emily Ratajkowski, “Mother F*cker”, in The Cut:
8
To continue to attempt to persuade a person into a particular course of action.
9
To make a higher bid at an auction.
10
Card games, Poker To make an all-in bet.
11
Board games, Chess, Games To move (a pawn) directly forward.
12
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To add (a data item) to the top of a stack.
- When the microprocessor decodes the JSR opcode, it stores the operand into the TEMP register and pushes the current contents of the PC ($00 0128) onto the stack.1992, Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor Family: Architecture, Programming, and Applications, page 47:
13
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To publish (an update, etc.) by transmitting it to other computers.
- Because this version of the Windows Installer is aware of the GAC, it has the capability to publish components into it. […] You can manually or programmatically push an assembly into the GAC by using the command-line tool Gacutil.exe.2002, Lars Powers, Mike Snell, Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library, page 968:
14
Obsolete To thrust the points of the horns against; to gore.
- If the ox shall push a manservant or maidservant, […] the ox shall be stoned.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 21:32:
15
To burst out of its pot, as a bud or shoot.
16
Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Snooker, Sports To strike the cue ball in such a way that it stays in contact with the cue and object ball at the same time (a foul shot).
- Derived terms
84 terms
push along, push around, push aside, push away, push back, push down, push forward, push in, push off, push on, push out, push over, push past, push through, push together, push under, push up, push up against, push up on, outpush, overpush, pushability, pushable, push against an open door, push-and-pull, push-and-run, pushback, pushball, pushbar, push bicycle, pushbike, push-bike, pushblock, push button, push-button, pushbutton, pushcard, pushcart, pushchair, push-cycle, push daisies, pushdown, pushee, pusher, pushforward, pushful, pushie, push into the long grass, pushknee, push-me-I-push-you, push notification, push one's luck, push one's way in, pushover, pushpad, push paper, push papers, pushpin, push-pull, pushrod, push rope, push shit uphill, push shot, push someone's buttons, pushstick, push string uphill, push the boat out, push the edge of the envelope, push the envelope, push the limit, push the right buttons, push-to-pass, push-to-talk, push-to-transmit, push-up, push up daisies, push up the daisies, pushwall, push water uphill, pushy, too posh to push, Tush Push, unpush, unpushed- Related terms
- pedal pushers, push it