Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

push

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb British English pronunciation: push /pʊʃ/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theypush
he/she/itpushes
present participlepushing
past tensepushed
past participlepushed
 
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to move someone or something away from you, or from their previous position, using part of your body, especially your hands

    Push as hard as you can.

    push someone/something away:

    She gently pushed him away.

    push something around:

    He was pushing a trolley around the supermarket.

    push at:

    He pushed at a door in the courtyard.

    push someone/something into someone/something:

    Rebecca pushed her handkerchief into her pocket.

    push someone/something against someone/something:

    The table had been pushed against the wall.

    push something open/shut:

    I pushed open the door with my foot.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  2. 2
    [intransitive/transitive] to press a button on a machine

    To turn on the television, you push this switch.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  3. 3
    [intransitive/transitive] to move past or through a group of people or things by using a part of your body to move them away from you

    Stop pushing and just wait your turn.

    Pushing to the front of the queue, he managed to get the last tickets.

    push past:

    He just pushed past Fred and left.

    push your way through:

    I was pushing my way through the crowd.

    push and shove:

    People were pushing and shoving, trying to get to the best seats first.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  4. 4
    [transitive] informal to try to make people buy a product or accept an idea

    He saw the interview as an opportunity to push his latest film.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  6. 6
    [transitive] to make something reach a particular level or standard
    push something up/down/into/towards:

    The Bank of England had pushed up interest rates sharply to protect the pound from speculators.

    The strong sunshine had pushed temperatures into the nineties.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  7. 7
    [transitive] to encourage or force someone in a determined way to do something they do not want to do
    push someone to do something:

    The United States pushed NATO to authorize military intervention.

    push someone into (doing) something:

    The police pushed her into giving evidence.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
    1. a.
      to force someone to make a great effort, especially at school or in their career

      A lot of parents push their children, but my dad only ever encourages and supports me.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push
  9. 9
    [intransitive] if an army pushes into, through, or across a country or area, it moves further into, through, or across it, using force

    Government troops pushed into the northern sector.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  pushThesaurus entry for this meaning of push

phrases

See also

This is the British English definition of push. View American English definition of push.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

glottal stop

a sound made by stopping air as it passes through your throat. In some varieties of spoken...

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog