push

PUUSH/pʊʃ/

Verbpushes, pushing, pushed

Noun pluralpushes

30 meanings of push

Practice

1
move an objectverbtransitive or intransitive
To press against an object with force in order to move it away from the source of that force.
Workers push the loaded carts toward the dock.
Swimmers push off the wall at the start of each lap.
UsageOften with a direction word: push a door open, push against a wall, push off from the side.
Similarpress, shove
Oppositepull, draw, tug
2
spur forwardverbtransitive
To drive someone or something forward by pressure or urging.
The general pushed his troops toward the river before dawn.
Strong currents push debris far downstream.
UsageSet phrase: push your luck, to risk going too far. With people or things, add a direction: push troops toward the river.
Similardrive, force
Oppositerestrain
Note
John Dryden's Annus Mirabilis (1667) already has 'to push his fortune', pressing an advantage further, so the pattern behind push your luck is an old one. With an abstract object the phrase often implies risk. With troops or debris as the object it simply means driving them forward.
3
verbtransitive
To keep urging or pressing someone, often insistently, to do something or take a particular course of action.
His coach pushed him to try out for the national team.
They push their employees to take on more responsibility.
Usagepush someone to do something, into a decision or into doing it, or for an answer.
Note
Jonathan Swift's 'We are pushed for an answer' in The Examiner (1710) shows the passive, which works just as well today.
4
verbtransitive
To keep promoting a product, opinion, or idea.
The campaign pushed a message of unity throughout the election.
Sales teams push the latest model with steep discounts.
UsageOften suggests too much pressure: push an idea on people, stop pushing the issue.
Similarpromote, advertise
Note
The object can be an issue, a perfume or drugs, and the pushing is always persistent. In politics a proposal can be pushed by a faction: Frances Russell's 1982 report describes a stimulus plan pushed by part of a government caucus.
5
organized effortnouncountable
A determined effort or campaign to achieve something or bring something about.
The company made a major push to enter the overseas market.
It took a real push to get the report done on time.
UsageOften a push to do something or a push for something; you make a push, often a final push.
6
verbintransitive
To keep straining and working hard in order to reach a goal.
Athletes push through pain to reach the finish line.
He pushed relentlessly until the project was complete.
UsageOften push through something hard (pain, tiredness), push on to keep going, or push hard.
Similarstrive, struggle, persevere, persist, strain
Oppositequit, relax
7
nouncountable
A short, directed application of force against an object.
A gentle push set the swing in motion.
The box moved across the floor with a single push.
UsageUsually give something or someone a push; at the push of a button means very easily.
Similarshove, nudge, thrust, prod, heave
Oppositepull, tug
8
verbtransitive or intransitive
To make one's way forward by forcing past or through the people or obstacles that block one's path.
Shoppers push past each other as soon as the store doors open.
Reporters pushed their way to the front of the packed courtroom.
Usagepush past someone, push through a crowd, or push your way to the front.
Similarshove, elbow, force, barge
9
release softwareverbtransitive
To release an update or similar change by transmitting it from one computer to others.
The team pushed the latest version to the production server.
Engineers push code changes to the shared repository several times a day.
UsageYou push an update to a server, a device or a repository; the opposite is pull.
Similardeploy, upload
Oppositepull
Note
Software sends things outward with this verb: an update, a set of code changes, an assembly. It belongs with server push, because in both the sending side acts without waiting to be asked.
10
instant alertsnoununcountable
A delivery method in which a server sends data to a client without waiting for the client to request it.
Modern messaging apps rely on push to deliver notifications in real time.
With push enabled, updates reach the device as soon as they are available.
UsageOften before another noun: push notifications, push technology. The opposite pattern is pull.
Oppositepull
Note
What matters is who starts the exchange. The server sends data as soon as it has something new, instead of waiting for the client to ask, which is the pull pattern.

Less common meanings

11
sell drugsverbcolloquialtransitive
To sell illegal drugs, especially by actively coaxing people into buying them.
Dealers push pills on teenagers outside the clubs.
He spent three years in prison for pushing heroin on the city's streets.
UsageThe buyer follows on: push pills on teenagers. It sounds harsher than sell or deal, suggesting pressure on the buyer.
Similarpeddle, sell, deal
Note
This narrows the selling-and-promoting meaning to one trade: what is pushed is a drug, and the person who sells it is a pusher.
12
get close toverbcolloquialtransitive
To approach or come close to a particular age, number, or point.
The old truck's odometer is pushing two hundred thousand miles.
Forecasters say afternoon highs could push 105 degrees, so the city is opening extra cooling centers.
UsageMost often pushing + an age or number: he's pushing sixty. Said of age, it can sound a little regretful.
Similarapproach, near
Note
The object is a number, and the phrase means nearly there but not yet. It is informal and at home in speech and song: Amy Winehouse used it in a 2003 song about a woman nearing thirty.
13
nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
An internal force or pressure that drives a person to act.
Whatever inner push gets him out of bed to train at dawn, it has carried him through injuries that would have stopped most athletes.
He felt a strong push to prove everyone wrong.
Similardrive, urge, impetus, impulse, motivation
14
strain in laborverbintransitive
To tense the abdominal muscles in order to give birth or to defecate.
With the next contraction she began to push.
Patients recovering from surgery are advised not to push when using the toilet.
15
nouncountable
An act of tensing the abdominal muscles in order to give birth or to defecate.
A final push delivered the baby safely.
Each push during delivery was timed with a contraction.
16
buttonnouncountable
A button-style control pressed to operate something, such as a doorbell.
The electrician replaced the cracked bell push by the front door and checked that the chime still rang.
The bell push on the wall had stopped working.
UsageMostly in the compound bell push; in everyday speech button or push-button is the usual word.
Similarbutton
Note
The 1952 Railway Magazine article 'New Third Class Sleeping Cars' fits a push in each berth, wired to a bell circuit and a luminous indicator.
17
tied betnouncountable
A bet that ends in a tie or even score, returning the stake so the bettor neither wins nor loses.
The final score landed right on the spread, making the wager a push.
When the bet is a push, the sportsbook refunds your stake.
Similartie, draw
18
verbtransitive or intransitive
To make a higher offer at an auction, raising the bid above the current standing price.
At the estate sale she was ready to push the bid past five thousand dollars to take the old clock home.
Each time a rival raised a hand, he pushed the bidding up another thousand dollars.
Similarraise
19
all inverbintransitive
To bet all of one's chips in a single move.
With a strong hand, she chose to push before the river.
He pushed early, hoping the others would simply fold.
Similarshove
Oppositefold
Note
Poker shorthand for going all-in: one push commits a player's whole stack to the hand in a single move. It is a player's word, and it should not be confused with the tied-wager noun from sports betting. There a push means the stake comes back untouched, which is nearly the opposite of risking everything.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
A poker push commits all remaining chips in one bet or raise. worldpokerfederation.org
A sports-betting push is a tied wager for which the stake is refunded. goldennugget.com
20
move a pawnverbtransitive
To move a pawn directly forward, as in chess.
White chose to push the pawn deep into enemy territory.
She pushed her passed pawn closer to promotion.
Similaradvance
Note
Chess players use it for the pawn's straight advance along its file. That is the only forward direction a pawn may take when it is not capturing. It covers any such advance, from an opening move to a passed pawn pushed toward promotion.
21
sproutverbintransitive
Of a bud or shoot, to burst out or sprout as it grows.
By late March, crocus shoots push through the frozen ground and fat buds start to swell on the lilac.
She noticed pale new fronds pushing out from the center of the fern, a sure sign it had survived the move.
Similarburst, sprout, grow
22
crowdnoundatedAustraliacountable
A particular crowd, throng, or group of people.
Till some wild, excited person Galloped down the township cursing, "Sydney push have mobbed Macpherson, Roll up, Dandaloo!"
1891, Banjo Paterson, An Evening in Dandaloo
Note
Slang with British roots for a particular crowd or gang. It is now obsolete in the UK and lives on mainly in Australia. Banjo Paterson's 'Sydney push have mobbed Macpherson' (1891) shows the rowdy flavor, and David Malouf (1994) writes of the 'rough Rugby pushes' of South Brisbane. It usually comes with a place or group name in front: the Sydney push.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
The crowd or gang sense has roots in British slang. upload.wikimedia.org
The quoted words occur in Banjo Paterson's poem, spoken by an unnamed excited person. gutenberg.net.au
The Paterson poem was first published in 1891. gutenberg.net.au
David Malouf used the quoted phrase about groups in South Brisbane. en.wiktionary.org
The Malouf passage dates to 1994, when its essay appeared in Family Pictures. openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au
23
verbobsolete
To thrust with the horns against someone or something; to gore.
Note
A reading trap in Scripture. In the King James Bible of 1611, 'If the ox shall push a manservant… the ox shall be stoned' means gore, not shove. The sense is obsolete. When an ox or bull is the subject in older texts, read the verb as an attack with the horns, and do not use it this way in new writing.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
The quotation accurately excerpts Exodus 21:32. en.wikisource.org
Push has the historical meaning of attacking with the horns or goring. en.wiktionary.org
24
pimplenounobsoleteUK
A pustule or pimple, especially a small inflamed spot on the skin.
a Push rise upon his Nose
1625, Francis Bacon, Of Praise
Note
A word unrelated to the verb of shoving that only shares its spelling: it probably comes from French poche, the source of pouch. Francis Bacon's Of Praise (1625) still has a push rise upon a man's nose. It belonged to British dialect and is now obsolete, so write pimple or pustule today and keep this one for reading or quoting older English.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
The pimple noun has a separate etymology from the shoving verb and probably derives from French poche. en.wiktionary.org
Pouch derives from poche through historical French forms. en.wiktionary.org
Francis Bacon's Of Praise describes a push rising on a man's nose. en.wikisource.org
The pimple noun belonged to British dialect. en.wiktionary.org
25
verb
To put a new data item onto a stack, where it becomes the topmost element.
26
noun
The action of adding a data item to the top of a stack.
27
nounslang
A deliberate effort by promoters to build a wrestler's career through scripted victories, more screen time, or both.
28
verb
In snooker, to make a foul stroke by keeping the cue tip against the cue ball beyond the contact permitted by the rules.
29
noun
A snooker foul shot in which the cue tip remains in contact with the cue ball for too long.
30
noun
A marching or drill maneuver in which a formation advances forward or toward the audience, usually timed to a dramatic peak in the music.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of push apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–23

Latin pulsare ("to beat, strike"), a frequentative of pellere, gave Old French poulser and Middle French pousser (still pousser in Modern French), which Middle English borrowed as pushen. Pulsate and pulse are doublets of it. It partly took the place of the native Old English sċūfan, which survives as Modern English shove.

Meaning 24

Probably from French poche; compare pouch.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Push, meaning a pustule or pimple, probably derives from French poche. en.wiktionary.org
Pouch provides an etymological comparison. en.wiktionary.org