elbow

Pluralelbows

Formselbows, elbowing, elbowed

1. 1
   nouncountable

   The joint connecting the upper arm and the forearm, which allows the arm to bend.

   The doctor examined her swollen elbow after the fall.

   Tennis players often strain the tendons around the elbow.

   Note

   Every other sense borrows its shape from this joint. The word goes back to Old English elboga, a compound equivalent to ell plus bow. Anatomists class it as a hinge where the humerus meets the radius and ulna, letting the arm flex and extend and the forearm rotate. Elbow joint is the fuller clinical name. In ordinary prose the plain word serves, as when Robert W. Chambers seats two figures with elbows almost touching.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A turn or bend resembling that of the arm joint, such as an angle in a wall, coastline, or a short bent pipe fitting.

   The plumber fitted an elbow to route the water line around the corner.

   The trail bends at a rocky elbow before descending to the shore.

   Similarbend, turn, angle

   Note

   Here the anatomy turns into geometry: anything that bends sharply enough to recall the arm joint can be called an elbow. Plumbers use the word for a short fitting, typically 45 or 90 degrees, and builders for the angle where a jamb meets the window back. Watch the verb: a thing makes or has an elbow, as the brook in Blackmore's Lorna Doone (1869) has a sudden elbow in it.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A strike or blow delivered with the elbow.

   The defender threw an elbow as they fought for the ball.

   A stray elbow to the jaw left him dazed for a moment.

   Note

   Sports reporting is where this noun works hardest. Players throw an elbow and are penalized for an elbow on an opponent. In Phil McNulty's 2018 BBC Sport report, that is what happened to Kyle Walker against Tunisia. Paul Vautin's Turn It Up! (1995) has an elbow thrown into a player's face. Where the verb of striking describes the act, the noun usually names it as an offense.

4. 4
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To nudge, jostle, or push someone, especially to make one's way through.

   Commuters elbow their way onto the crowded train every morning.

   She elbowed past the reporters to reach the waiting car.

   Similarpush, shove, jostle, muscle

   Note

   Here the elbowing loosens from the arm, and the subject need not have one. Dana Stabenow's A Fatal Thaw (1993) has the spring breakup elbow its way into the Park, lending a season the manners of a jostling crowd. The way-construction carries over from the literal shove, and that is what makes the figure work.

5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To shove with the elbow or elbows, forging ahead by using them to clear a path.

   Players often elbow rivals aside to grab the rebound.

   She elbowed the onlookers out of her path and stepped onto the stage.

   Similarshove, push, jostle

   Note

   The verb's favorite frame is elbow one's way, followed by a path. Arthur Conan Doyle's Malone and Roxton elbow their way through the crush until they reach Challenger's side. Elbow aside is the other common pairing, for people moved out of the way. The pushing is about progress rather than injury. When the elbow lands as a blow, the striking verb is the better fit.

6. 6
   verbtransitive

   To strike someone or something with the elbow.

   Fighters who elbow opponents illegally are penalized by the referee.

   He elbowed the goalkeeper during the scramble for the ball.

   Note

   The striking verb usually names where the blow landed: elbowed in the ribs, in the eye, full in the face. That pattern, a person as object followed by in and a body part, separates it from pushing one's way through. The blow may be deliberate or, as in Tania Ganguli's 2022 report on a Warriors game, inadvertent. An adverb is how writers tell readers which.

7. 7
   verbcolloquialtransitive

   To pressure someone into quitting or losing their job so that another person can be hired in their place.

   Executives quietly elbowed the founder out to install their own candidate.

   She felt the board was trying to elbow her aside in favor of a younger hire.

   Similarpush, force, squeeze, edge, shove

   Note

   The workplace borrows the crowd's shove here. The verb nearly always takes out or aside: elbowed out of power, elbow her aside. Out can add of plus the position lost. The verb is informal and carries a note of unfairness, since the point is to make room for someone else. It suits commentary and conversation better than an official announcement.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   On a basketball court, the spot where the free-throw line meets the edge of the free-throw lane.

   The point guard pulled up for a jumper from the right elbow.

   Defenders collapsed as he caught the ball at the elbow.

   Note

   The spot is named for its shape. The free-throw line meets the lane at a corner on each side, so players speak of the left or right elbow. It is a favored position for mid-range jump shots and high-post sets. The usual prepositions are at and from: a player catches the ball at the elbow and shoots from it.

9. 9
   nouncountable

   In knot-tying, two nearby points where a rope crosses over itself.

   Form an elbow in the line, then pass the working end through both loops.

   An elbow in the rope adds friction that helps the hitch hold.

   Note

   Knot tyers use the word for a working shape rather than a finished knot. The rope passes over itself twice in close succession, and the pair of crossings becomes an intermediate structure on the way to various hitches and bends. The image is the same bent arm, folded twice instead of once.

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