push
[verb]
Synonyms:
- shove, depress, drive, press, propel, ram, thrust
- make or force one's way, elbow, jostle, move, shoulder, shove, squeeze, thrust
- urge, encourage, hurry, impel, incite, persuade, press, spur
[noun]
Synonyms:
- shove, butt, nudge, thrust
- drive, ambition, dynamism, energy, enterprise, go (informal), initiative, vigour, vitality
- the push: dismissal, discharge, one's cards (informal), the boot (slang), the sack (informal)

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Antonyms: pull
Contrasted words: brake, check, stay, ease, facilitate, slide (by), slip (through), expedite, help (along)
Related Words: launch, impel, move, force, ram, dig, nudge, hunch, drive, thrust, bump, butt, oversell

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English Thesaurus: push, shove, stuff, poke, nudge, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. push¹ S1 W2 /pʊʃ/ verb
[Word Family: noun: push, pusher, pushiness; adjective: pushed, pushy; verb: push]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: poulser 'to hit, push', from Latin pulsare, from pellere 'to drive, hit']

1. MOVE [intransitive and transitive] to make someone or something move by pressing them with your hands, arms etc Antonym : pull:
It didn’t move, so she pushed harder.
I promised to push him on the swings for as long as he wanted.
shoppers pushing their grocery carts
push somebody/something away/back/aside etc
She pushed him away.
Maria pushed her hair back from her forehead.
push somebody/something towards/into etc something
Philip pushed him towards the door.
push something open/shut
I slowly pushed the door open.

2. BUTTON/SWITCH [intransitive and transitive] to press a button, switch etc in order to make a piece of equipment start or stop working Synonym : press:
I got in and pushed the button for the fourth floor.
Push the green button to start the engine.

3. TRY TO GET PAST [intransitive] to use your hands, arms etc to make people or things move, so that you can get past them:
Don’t push. Everyone will get a turn.
push (your way) past/through/into etc
A fat man pushed past me in his rush to leave.
She pushed her way to the front.

4. ENCOURAGE [transitive] to encourage or force someone to do something or to work hard:
Encourage your kids to try new things, but try not to push them too hard.
athletes who push their bodies to the limit
push yourself
He’s been pushing himself too hard, working 12-hour days.
push somebody into (doing) something
My husband pushed me into leaving the job.
push somebody to do something
The teachers pushed the students to achieve.

5. PERSUADE [intransitive and transitive] to try to persuade people to accept your ideas, opinions etc in order to achieve something:
The president is trying to push his agenda in Congress.
push for
He was pushing hard for welfare reform.
push to do something
Company representatives are pushing to open foreign markets to their products.
push something on somebody
We don’t try to push our religion on anyone.

6. CHANGE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to change someone’s situation, or to make a situation change, especially when some people do not want it to change:
The law would push even more children into poverty.
attempts to push the peace process forward

7. INCREASE/DECREASE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to increase or decrease an amount, value, or number
push something up/down
Slow sales have pushed down orders.
push something higher/lower
New technology has pushed the cost of health care even higher.

8. ARMY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if an army pushes somewhere, it moves in that direction:
The army was pushing north.
We pushed deep into enemy territory.

9. ADVERTISE [transitive] informal to try to sell more of a product by advertising it a lot:
Sports stars earn big bucks for pushing everything from shoes to soft drinks.

10. DRUGS [transitive] informal to sell illegal drugs ⇒ pusher

11. be pushing 40/50 etc informal to be nearly 40, 50 etc years old

12. push your luck/push it informal to do something or ask for something, especially something you have done or asked for before, when this is likely to annoy someone or involves a risk:
If she doesn’t want to go, don’t push it.
It’s 26 miles, so you’re pushing your luck if you try to hike it in a day.

13. push something out of your mind (also push something to the back of your mind) to try not to think about something, especially something bad or worrying:
He pushed the thought out of his mind and tried to concentrate.

14. push (sb’s) buttons informal to make someone feel strong emotions:
Movies shouldn’t be afraid to push a few buttons.

15. push the boat out British English informal to spend more money than you usually do, on something special:
Push the boat out and get tickets to the theatre or ballet.

16. push the point to keep trying to make someone accept your opinion in a way that they think is annoying

17. push the envelope American English to do something that is new and that goes beyond the limits of what has already been done in a particular area of activity
push the envelope of/on
ideas that push the envelope of design and construction

18. be pushing up (the) daisies informal to be dead – used humorously
⇒ pushed, pushing

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. push² noun
[Word Family: noun: push, pusher, pushiness; adjective: pushed, pushy; verb: push]

1. PUSHING MOVEMENT [countable] when someone pushes something Antonym : pull:
Jodi had stopped swinging. ‘Want a push?’ her dad asked.
If the door’s stuck, just give it a push.
at/with the push of a button (=used to emphasize how easy a machine is to use)
Files can be attached to your email at the push of a button.

2. EFFORT [countable] when someone, especially a business, tries to get or achieve something:
the pre-Christmas advertising push
push into
The company has recently made a big push into the Japanese market.
push for
the push for improved productivity
push to do something
a push to attract new members

3. ENCOURAGEMENT [singular] if someone gives someone else a push, they encourage or persuade them to try something:
She just needed a gentle push to get her to join in.

4. ARMY [countable] a planned military movement into the area where the enemy is
push into
The army has made another big push into enemy territory.

5. give somebody the push/get the push British English informal
a) if your employer gives you the push, they make you leave your job:
I was scared I’d get the push.
b) if someone you are having a romantic relationship with gives you the push, they tell you that they no longer want to continue the relationship

6. when/if push comes to shove (also if it comes to the push British English) spoken if a situation becomes very difficult or action needs to be taken:
If push comes to shove, you can always sell the car.

7. at a push British English informal if you can do something at a push, it will be difficult, but you will be able to do it:
We have room for five people, maybe six at a push.

8. it’ll be a push British English spoken used to say that something will be difficult because you do not have enough time to do it:
I’ll do my best, but it’ll be a bit of a push.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

push
noun
I. act of pushing
ADJ. big, hard | gentle, little
VERB + PUSH give sb/sth She gave him a gentle push towards the door.
PHRASES at the push of a button The machine washes and dries at the push of a button.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

push
II. effort to do/obtain sth
ADJ. big | final
PREP. ~ against the final push against the enemy
~ for There has been a big push for better public transport.
~ towards a push towards organic food

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

push
verb
I. use force to move sb/sth away from you
ADV. firmly, hard You'll have to push harder if you want it to move.
roughly, violently | gently | carefully | deliberately He was deliberately pushed into the path of the vehicle.
hastily, hurriedly, quickly | slowly | suddenly | just, merely, simply Jack flung himself at Steve, but he simply pushed him away.
aside, away, back, down, home, inside, over, together She leaned on the door and pushed the bolt home. They pushed the two desks together.
VERB + PUSH try to | manage to | begin to
PREP. across, against The fans pushed against the barrier.
at She pushed at the door but it wouldn't budge.
into, off, out of He pushed her roughly out of the door.
through, to The woman had been pushed violently to the ground.
towards, under She found a note pushed under the door.
PHRASES push sth open/shut He managed to push the window open a few inches.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

push
II. move forward by pushing people
ADV. roughly | blindly
VERB + PUSH try to | begin to I began to push my way through the crowd.
PREP. past She pushed blindly past him and made for the door.
through pushing through the crowd
PHRASES push and shove People were pushing and shoving to get to the front.
push your way A man pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

push
III. put pressure on sb/yourself
ADV. hard Lucy should push herself a little harder.
too far Her parents are very tolerant, but sometimes she pushes them too far.
around Don't allow yourself to be pushed around by that bully.
PREP. into Her parents pushed her into accepting the job.
PHRASES push sb/yourself to the limit He felt he was being pushed to the limits of his self-control. PHRASAL VERBS push for sth
ADV. hard They're pushing hard for a ban on GM foods.
VERB + PUSH have to I'm going to have to push you for an answer.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

push to make something or someone move by pressing them with your hands, arms etc:
Push the door, don’t pull it.
She pushed him away and walked out.
shove to push someone or something in a rough or careless way:
People were shoving to get to the front of the queue.
Tom shoved his suitcase under the bed.
stuff informal to push something quickly and carelessly into a small space:
She stuffed a few clothes into a bag and left.
poke to push someone or something with your finger or something sharp:
I poked the snake with a stick but it was dead.
nudge to push someone beside you gently with your elbow to get their attention:
Toby nudged me and pointed out of the window.
roll to push something round or something on wheels so that it moves forward:
They rolled the logs down the hill.
The car still didn’t start so we tried to roll it off the road.
wheel to push something with wheels, for example a bicycle or a trolley, so that it moves forward, while guiding it with your hands:
Rob wheeled his bike round the back of the house.
record information about something that is written down:
your medical records
the public records office
I have to keep a record of all my spending when I’m travelling on business.
file a set of written records, or information stored on a computer under a particular name:
He began reading the file on the case.
I think I may have accidentally deleted the file.
accounts (also books informal) an exact record of the money that a company has received and spent:
Companies are required by law to publish their annual accounts.
Someone had been falsifying the accounts.
The company’s books all seemed to be in order.
ledger one of the official books in which a company’s financial records are kept, which show how much it has received and spent:
The costs have been moved from one column of the ledger to another.
minutes an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting:
Both points are mentioned in the minutes of the last meeting on August 3rd.
diary a book in which you regularly write down the things that have happened to you:
In his diary he wrote, ‘It s lovely having him here, we’ve had so many cosy talks.’
I’ll just check in my diary to see if I’m free.
blog a web page on the Internet on which someone regularly writes about their life, opinions, or a particular subject:
I may not always agree with David, but I always read his blog.
register an official list of names of people, organizations etc:
Guests must sign the hotel register.
the national register of births, deaths, and marriages
Lloyds Register of Shipping
log an official record that is kept on a ship or plane:
Mr Appleby said he complained to a senior officer, who made a note in the ship’s log.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲