push
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To continually try to persuade into a particular course of action.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
puushIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpʊʃ
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 continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
transitiveintransitive
To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away from the person or thing applying the force.
“He pushed the table into a corner.”
transitive
To continually promote (a point of view, a product for sale, etc.).
intransitive
To continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal.
Sell or promote the sale of (illegal goods such as drugs)
“The guy hanging around the school is pushing drugs.”
transitive
To press or urge forward; to drive.
noun
An attempt to persuade someone into a particular course of action.
A short, directed application of force; an act of pushing.
The act of applying force in order to move something away
An effort to advance
A great effort (to do something).
figurative
A force that impels or pressures one to act.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
Used this way, push is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Continually / sellverb
“The guy hanging around the school is pushing drugs.”
Applyverb
“He pushed the table into a corner.”
More ways to use push
- “He pushed the table into a corner.”verb
- “The guy hanging around the school is pushing drugs.”verb
- “The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of applying force in order to move something away.
One who intrudes or pushes himself forward.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Cause to come or go down.
A list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO).
A queue in which the last item to go in is the first item to come out (LIFO).
A list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO).
A storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO).
A storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO).
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A small vehicle with four wheels in which a baby or child is pushed around.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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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.