push

From Middle English pushen, poshen, posson, borrowed from Middle French pousser (Modern French pousser) from Old French poulser, from Latin pulsare, frequentative of pellere (past participle pulsus) "to beat, strike". Doublet of pulsate. Displaced native Middle English thrucchen ("to push"; > Modern English thrutch) (from Old English þryccan (“to push”)), Middle English scauten (“to push, thrust”) (from Old Norse skota), Middle English schoven (“to push, shove”) (from Old English scofian), Middle English schuven (“to shove, push”) (from Old English scūfan, scēofan (“to shove, push, thrust”)), Middle English thuden, thudden (“to push, press, thrust”) (from Old English þȳdan, þyddan (“to thrust, press, push”)).

• enPR: po͝osh, IPA^(key): /pʊʃ/
• (Appalachian) IPA^(key): [puʃ][1]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  IPA^(key): [pʷʊʃ]
• Rhymes: -ʊʃ

push (third-person singular simple present pushes, present participle pushing, simple past and past participle pushed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) 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. (transitive) To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
   • Jonathan Swift

     We are pushed for an answer.

   • Spectator

     Ambition pushes the soul to such actions as are apt to procure honour to the actor.

3. (transitive) To press or urge forward; to drive.

   to push an objection too far; to push one's luck

   • Dryden

     to push his fortune

4. (transitive) 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.

   There were two men hanging around the school gates today, pushing drugs.

5. (informal, transitive) To approach; to come close to.

   My old car is pushing 250,000 miles.

   He's pushing sixty. (= he's nearly sixty years old)

6. (intransitive) To tense the muscles in the abdomen in order to expel its contents.

   During childbirth, there are times when the obstetrician advises the woman not to push.

7. (intransitive) To continue to attempt to persuade a person into a particular course of action.
8. To make a higher bid at an auction.
9. (poker) To make an all-in bet.
10. (chess, transitive) To move (a pawn) directly forward.
11. (computing) To add (a data item) to the top of a stack.
    • 1992, Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor Family: Architecture, Programming, and Applications (page 47)

      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.

12. (computing) To publish (an update, etc.) by transmitting it to other computers.
    • 2002, Lars Powers, Mike Snell, Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the .NET Framework Class Library (page 968)

      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.

13. (obsolete) To thrust the points of the horns against; to gore.
    • Bible, Exodus xxi. 32

      If the ox shall push a manservant or maidservant, […] the ox shall be stoned.

14. To burst out of its pot, as a bud or shoot.
15. (snooker) 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)

• (transitive: apply a force to (an object) so it moves away): press, shove, thrutch
• (continue to attempt to persuade): press, urge
• (continue to promote): press, advertise, promote
• (come close to): approach, near
• (intransitive: apply force to an object so that it moves away): press, shove, thring
• (tense the muscles in the abdomen in order to expel its contents): bear down

• (apply a force to something so it moves away): draw, pull, tug
• (put onto a stack): pop

• pedal pushers
• push it

push (plural pushes)

1. A short, directed application of force; an act of pushing.

   Give the door a hard push if it sticks.

2. An act of tensing the muscles of the abdomen in order to expel its contents.

   One more push and the baby will be out.

3. A great effort (to do something).

   Some details got lost in the push to get the project done.

   Let's give one last push on our advertising campaign.

4. An attempt to persuade someone into a particular course of action.
5. (military) A marching or drill maneuver/manoeuvre performed by moving a formation (especially a company front) forward or toward the audience, usually to accompany a dramatic climax or crescendo in the music.
6. A wager that results in no loss or gain for the bettor as a result of a tie or even score
7. (computing) The addition of a data item to the top of a stack.
8. (Internet, uncountable) The situation where a server sends data to a client without waiting for a request, as in server push, push technology.
9. (dated) A crowd or throng or people
   • 1891, Banjo Paterson, An Evening in Dandaloo

     Till some wild, excited person

     Galloped down the township cursing,

     "Sydney push have mobbed Macpherson,

     Roll up, Dandaloo!"

10. (snooker) A foul shot in which the cue ball is in contact with the cue and the object ball at the same time

• give someone the push
• push factor

Probably French poche. See pouch.

push (plural pushes)

1. (obsolete, Britain, dialectal) A pustule; a pimple.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

• Phus, shup

From Proto-Albanian *puša, from *puksja, from Proto-Indo-European *pewk- 'covered with hair, bushy'. Related to Sanskrit पुच्छ (púccha, “tail”), Slavic *puxъ 'down'.[2].

push m (indefinite plural pusha, definite singular pushi, definite plural pushat)

1. light hair, fluff, down, nap, pile