push

PUUSH/pʊʃ/

Verbpushes, pushing, pushed

Noun pluralpushes

30 meanings of push

Practice

1
move an objectverbtransitive or intransitive
To use force to move something away from you.
Like moving a toy car forward with your hand.
I push the cart down the aisle.
She pushed against the locked gate, but it held firm.
UsageOften with a word for direction: push something away, push against a gate.
Similarpress, shove
Oppositepull, draw, tug
2
spur forwardverbtransitive
To press or drive someone or something forward.
Like wind moving leaves along the ground.
The wind pushed the sailboat across the bay.
Hunger can push people to take big risks.
UsagePush your luck means to take too big a risk. Often with a direction: push something toward a place.
Similardrive, force
Oppositerestrain
Note
3
verbtransitive
To keep telling or pressing someone to do something.
Like a friend who keeps asking you to join until you agree.
Her parents pushed her to study medicine.
Don't push me into a decision I'm not ready for.
Usagepush someone to do something, or into doing it.
Note
4
verbtransitive
To keep promoting a product or idea so people accept it.
Like an ad that keeps telling you to buy something.
The store pushed its new phone all week.
They push healthy eating in every ad.
UsageOften means pushing too hard: push an idea on people.
Similarpromote, advertise
Note
5
organized effortnouncountable
A big effort to get something done or to make something happen.
Like one big burst of energy at the end of a long job.
With one last push, they finished building the fence.
The team made a final push to meet the deadline.
UsageSay make a push, or a push to do something.
6
verbintransitive
To keep working hard to reach a goal.
Like climbing a hill without stopping to rest.
She pushed hard to finish the race.
We had to push hard to finish the project on time.
UsageOften push through pain, or push hard.
Similarstrive, struggle, persevere, persist, strain
Oppositequit, relax
7
nouncountable
A quick press or shove against someone or something.
Like a small shove to get something moving.
Give the door a push and it will open.
One firm push sent the boat away from the dock.
UsageSay give the door a push.
Similarshove, nudge, thrust, prod, heave
Oppositepull, tug
8
verbtransitive or intransitive
To move forward by pressing past or through people or things in your way.
We had to push through the crowd to reach the door.
A man pushed past me without saying sorry.
Usagepush past people, or push through a crowd.
Similarshove, elbow, force, barge
9
release softwareverbtransitive
To send a software update out to other computers.
Like sending a finished file to everyone's computer at once.
The developer pushed the new update to all users last night.
We push bug fixes to the server every Friday.
UsageYou push an update to a server or to users.
Similardeploy, upload
Oppositepull
Note
10
instant alertsnoununcountable
A way of sending data where the server delivers it without being asked.
Like a friend texting you news instead of you having to ask.
With push, your phone gets new messages the moment they arrive.
The app uses push to send alerts instantly.
UsageOften before another word: push notifications.
Oppositepull
Note

Less common meanings

11
sell drugsverbcolloquialtransitive
To sell illegal drugs, often by talking people into buying them.
Police caught a man pushing drugs near the park.
Some gangs push drugs in poor neighborhoods.
UsageIt sounds more disapproving than sell and can suggest pressure to buy. You can name the buyer after on: push pills on teenagers.
Similarpeddle, sell, deal
Note
12
get close toverbcolloquialtransitive
To be getting close to a certain age, time, or amount.
Like a clock almost reaching the next hour but not quite there.
Gas prices could push five dollars a gallon this summer.
She is pushing forty and loves her career.
UsageMost often pushing + an age: pushing forty means nearly forty.
Similarapproach, near
Note
13
nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
An inner force that drives a person to act.
Like a feeling inside that won't let you sit still.
The push to succeed kept her awake at night.
Her own curiosity was the push that got her into science.
Similardrive, urge, impetus, impulse, motivation
14
strain in laborverbintransitive
To tighten your stomach muscles to give birth or pass waste.
Like squeezing to force toothpaste out of a tube.
The midwife told her to push with each contraction.
Doctors warn against pushing too hard in the bathroom.
15
nouncountable
An effort of tightening your belly muscles to give birth or pass stool.
Like one big squeeze to get something out.
With one strong push, the baby was born.
The nurse counted each push during labor.
16
buttonnouncountable
A small button pressed to ring a bell or work a device.
Like the button you press to ring someone's doorbell.
I pressed the bell push twice, but nobody came to the door.
Each apartment has its own bell push by the main entrance.
UsageMostly in bell push. Most people just say button.
Similarbutton
Note
17
tied betnouncountable
A bet that ends in a tie, so you do not win or lose any money.
Like a tie game where nobody wins and nobody loses.
The game ended in a push, so he got his money back.
A late field goal turned his bet into a push.
Similartie, draw
18
verbtransitive or intransitive
To offer more money than the last bid at an auction.
She had to push the bid up to nine hundred dollars to win the old vase.
Two collectors kept pushing the bid higher until one of them gave up.
Similarraise
19
all inverbintransitive
To bet all of your chips at once in a card game.
Like betting everything you have on one single game.
He decided to push with a pair of kings.
Low on chips, she decided to push with her pair of aces.
Similarshove
Oppositefold
Note
20
move a pawnverbtransitive
To move a pawn straight ahead in a game of chess.
Like moving one game piece a step ahead on the board.
She decided to push her pawn toward the other side.
He pushed the pawn two squares on his first move.
Similaradvance
Note
21
sproutverbintransitive
Of a plant bud or shoot, to burst out or sprout as it grows.
Like a plant growing so fast it spills over the edge of its container.
Green buds push out along the bare branches in early spring.
After the rain, tiny shoots pushed up all over the garden.
Similarburst, sprout, grow
22
crowdnoundatedAustraliacountable
A particular crowd 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 DandalooHere, push means a crowd or group of people.
Note
23
verbobsolete
Of an animal, to hit or wound someone with its horns.
Note
24
pimplenounobsoleteUK
A small raised spot on the skin, like a pimple.
a Push rise upon his Nose
1625, Francis Bacon, Of PraiseHere, push means a small raised spot on the skin, like a pimple.
Note
25
verb
To put a new item on top of a stack of data.
26
noun
The act of adding an item to the top of a stack.
27
nounslang
A planned effort to make a wrestler more popular by giving them wins and more time on screen.
28
verb
In snooker, to make a foul stroke by keeping the cue tip against the cue ball longer than the rules allow.
29
noun
In snooker, a foul shot where the cue tip stays on the ball too long.
30
noun
A drill move where a marching group steps forward toward the crowd, often during a big moment 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

From Middle English pushen, taken from French pousser, which came from Latin pulsare meaning 'to beat or strike'.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Push derives from Middle English pushen, borrowed from French pousser. en.wiktionary.org
French pousser derives from Latin pulsare. en.wiktionary.org
Latin pulsare means 'to beat or strike'. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 24

Probably from French poche, related to 'pouch'.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Push, meaning a pustule or pimple, probably derives from French poche. en.wiktionary.org
French poche is etymologically related to pouch. en.wiktionary.org