nudge
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To push against gently.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nuhjIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnʌdʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
“She nudged my elbow when she saw her friend enter the restaurant.”
transitive
To near or come close to something.
transitive
To move slightly.
noun
A slight push or shake
A gentle push.
The rotation by one step of a fruit machine reel of the player's choice.
behavioral economics
The use of positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence.
A whiner; a complainer.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
Used this way, nudge is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
“She nudged my elbow when she saw her friend enter the restaurant.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Nearby words
- poke at , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use nudge
- “She nudged my elbow when she saw her friend enter the restaurant.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to push against gently
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.