# push

Pronunciation: say "PUUSH" /pʊʃ/

## Verb

1. To press against an object with force in order to move it away from the source of that force.
   - Simple: To use force to move something away from you.
   - _Workers push the loaded carts toward the dock._
   - _Swimmers push off the wall at the start of each lap._
2. To drive someone or something forward by pressure or urging.
   - Simple: To press or drive someone or something forward.
   - _The general pushed his troops toward the river before dawn._
   - _Strong currents push debris far downstream._
3. To keep urging or pressing someone, often insistently, to do something or take a particular course of action.
   - Simple: To keep telling or pressing someone to do something.
   - _His coach pushed him to try out for the national team._
   - _They push their employees to take on more responsibility._
4. To keep promoting a product, opinion, or idea.
   - Simple: To keep promoting a product or idea so people accept it.
   - _The campaign pushed a message of unity throughout the election._
   - _Sales teams push the latest model with steep discounts._
6. To keep straining and working hard in order to reach a goal.
   - Simple: To keep working hard to reach a goal.
   - _Athletes push through pain to reach the finish line._
   - _He pushed relentlessly until the project was complete._
8. To make one's way forward by forcing past or through the people or obstacles that block one's path.
   - Simple: To move forward by pressing past or through people or things in your way.
   - _Shoppers push past each other as soon as the store doors open._
   - _Reporters pushed their way to the front of the packed courtroom._
9. To release an update or similar change by transmitting it from one computer to others.
   - Simple: To send a software update out to other computers.
   - _The team pushed the latest version to the production server._
   - _Engineers push code changes to the shared repository several times a day._
11. To sell illegal drugs, especially by actively coaxing people into buying them. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To sell illegal drugs, often by talking 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._
12. To approach or come close to a particular age, number, or point. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To be getting close to a certain age, time, or amount.
   - _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._
14. To tense the abdominal muscles in order to give birth or to defecate.
   - Simple: To tighten your stomach muscles to give birth or pass waste.
   - _With the next contraction she began to push._
   - _Patients recovering from surgery are advised not to push when using the toilet._
18. To make a higher offer at an auction, raising the bid above the current standing price.
   - Simple: To offer more money than the last bid at an auction.
   - _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._
19. To bet all of one's chips in a single move.
   - Simple: To bet all of your chips at once in a card game.
   - _With a strong hand, she chose to push before the river._
   - _He pushed early, hoping the others would simply fold._
20. To move a pawn directly forward, as in chess.
   - Simple: To move a pawn straight ahead in a game of chess.
   - _White chose to push the pawn deep into enemy territory._
   - _She pushed her passed pawn closer to promotion._
21. Of a bud or shoot, to burst out or sprout as it grows.
   - Simple: Of a plant 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._

## Noun

5. A determined effort or campaign to achieve something or bring something about.
   - Simple: A big effort to get something done or to make something happen.
   - _The company made a major push to enter the overseas market._
   - _It took a real push to get the report done on time._
7. A short, directed application of force against an object.
   - Simple: A quick press or shove against someone or something.
   - _A gentle push set the swing in motion._
   - _The box moved across the floor with a single push._
10. A delivery method in which a server sends data to a client without waiting for the client to request it.
   - Simple: A way of sending data where the server delivers it without being asked.
   - _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._
13. An internal force or pressure that drives a person to act.
   - Simple: An inner force 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._
15. An act of tensing the abdominal muscles in order to give birth or to defecate.
   - Simple: An effort of tightening your belly muscles to give birth or pass stool.
   - _A final push delivered the baby safely._
   - _Each push during delivery was timed with a contraction._
16. A button-style control pressed to operate something, such as a doorbell.
   - Simple: A small button pressed to ring a bell or work a device.
   - _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._
17. A bet that ends in a tie or even score, returning the stake so the bettor neither wins nor loses.
   - Simple: A bet that ends in a tie, so you do not win or lose any money.
   - _The final score landed right on the spread, making the wager a push._
   - _When the bet is a push, the sportsbook refunds your stake._

## Noun

22. A particular crowd, throng, or group of people. *(dated, Australia)*
   - Simple: A particular crowd or group of people.
24. A pustule or pimple, especially a small inflamed spot on the skin. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: A small raised spot on the skin, like a pimple.

## Verb

23. To thrust with the horns against someone or something; to gore. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Of an animal, to hit or wound someone with its horns.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To put a new data item onto a stack, where it becomes the topmost element.
- (noun) The action of adding a data item to the top of a stack.
- (noun) A deliberate effort by promoters to build a wrestler's career through scripted victories, more screen time, or both.
- (verb) In snooker, to make a foul stroke by keeping the cue tip against the cue ball beyond the contact permitted by the rules.
- (noun) A snooker foul shot in which the cue tip remains in contact with the cue ball for too long.
- (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.

## Origin

**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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/push (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).