when or if push comes to shove, when or if matters are ultimately confronted or resolved; when or if a problem must be faced; in a crucial situation: If push comes to shove, the government will impose quotas on imports.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME pushen, poshen, posson (v.) < MF pousser, OF po(u)lser < L pulsāre.See pulsate]
To apply pressure against for the purpose of moving: push a shopping cart through the aisles of a market.
To move (an object) by exerting force against it; thrust or shove.
To force (one's way): We pushed our way through the crowd.
To urge forward or urge insistently; pressure: push a child to study harder.
To bear hard upon; press.
To exert downward pressure on (a button or keyboard, for example); press.
To extend or enlarge: push society past the frontier.
Informal To approach in age: is pushing 40 and still hasn't settled down.
Slang
To promote or sell (a product): The author pushed her latest book by making appearances in bookstores.
To sell (a narcotic) illegally: push drugs.
Sports To hit (a ball) in the direction toward the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.
v.
intr.
To exert outward pressure or force against something.
To advance despite difficulty or opposition; press forward.
To expend great or vigorous effort.
n.
The act of pushing; thrust: gave the door a swift push.
A vigorous or insistent effort toward an end; a drive: a push to democracy.
A provocation to action; a stimulus.
Informal Persevering energy; enterprise.
Phrasal Verb(s): push around Informal
To treat or threaten to treat roughly; intimidate.
push off Informal
To set out; depart: The infantry patrol pushed off before dawn. push on
To continue or proceed along one's way: The path was barely visible, but we pushed on.
Idiom(s):
push paper Informal
To have one's time taken up by administrative, often seemingly petty, paperwork: spent the afternoon pushing paper for the boss.
Idiom(s):
push up daisies Slang
To be dead and buried: a cemetery of heroes pushing up daisies.
Idiom(s):
when/if push comes to shove
At a point when or if all else has been taken into account and matters must be confronted, one way or another: "We extol the virtues of motherhood and bestow praise on the self-sacrificing homemaker but when push comes to shove, we give her little recognition for what she does"(Los Angeles Times).
[Middle English pusshen, from Old French poulser, pousser, from Latin pulsāre, frequentative of pellere, to strike, push; see pel-5 in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to press against something in order to move it forward or aside: push a baby carriage; wind propelling a sailboat; shove a tray across a table; thrust the package into her hand. See Also Synonyms at campaign.
c.1300, from O.Fr. poulser, from L. pulsare "to beat, strike, push," frequentative of pellere (pp. pulsus) "to push, drive, beat" (see pulse (1)). The noun is first recorded 1570. Meaning "approach a certain age" is from 1937. Meaning "promote" (1714) led to pusher "peddler of illegal drugs," first recorded 1935 in prison slang (earlier it meant "prostitute," 1923). Pushy "forward, aggressive" first recorded 1936. To push (someone) around is from 1923. Phrase push comes to shove is from 1958; to push (one's) luck is from 1911. To push the envelope in figurative sense is late 1980s. Push-up, the exercise, is from 1906; to push up daisies "be dead and buried" is from c.1860. Push-button (n.) is from 1898; adj. sense "characterized by the use of push-buttons" is from 1946.
the act of applying force in order to move something away; "he gave the door a hard push"; "the pushing is good exercise"
2.
the force used in pushing; "the push of the water on the walls of the tank"; "the thrust of the jet engines"
3.
enterprising or ambitious drive; "Europeans often laugh at American energy" [syn: energy]
4.
an electrical switch operated by pressing; "the elevator was operated by push buttons"; "the push beside the bed operated a buzzer at the desk" [syn: push button]
5.
an effort to advance; "the army made a push toward the sea"
verb
1.
move with force, "He pushed the table into a corner" [ant: draw]
2.
press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action; "He pushed her to finish her doctorate"
3.
make publicity for; try to sell (a product); "The salesman is aggressively pushing the new computer model"; "The company is heavily advertizing their new laptops" [syn: advertise]
4.
strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis" [syn: tug]
5.
press against forcefully without moving; "she pushed against the wall with all her strength"
6.
approach a certain age or speed; "She is pushing fifty"
7.
exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for; "The liberal party pushed for reforms"; "She is crusading for women's rights"; "The Dean is pushing for his favorite candidate" [syn: crusade]
8.
sell or promote the sale of (illegal goods such as drugs); "The guy hanging around the school is pushing drugs"
9.
move strenuously and with effort; "The crowd pushed forward"
10.
make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby; "'Now push hard,' said the doctor to the woman" [syn: press]
to press against something, in order to (try to) move it further away Example: He pushed the door open; She pushed him away; He pushed against the door with his shoulder; The queue can't move any faster, so stop pushing!; I had a good view of the race till someone pushed in front of me.
Arabic:
يَدْفَع
Chinese (Simplified):
推
Chinese (Traditional):
推
Czech:
tlačit (se), protlačit (se), strčit
Danish:
skubbe; mase sig igennem
Dutch:
duwen
Estonian:
tõukama
Finnish:
työntää
French:
pousser
German:
stoßen
Greek:
σπρώχνω
Hungarian:
tol, lök; nyomul
Icelandic:
ÿta, *þrÿsta á; ryðjast
Indonesian:
mendorong
Italian:
spingere
Japanese:
押す
Korean:
밀다, 밀어 움직이다
Latvian:
grūst; stumt
Lithuanian:
(pa)stumti, prasistumti
Norwegian:
dytte, skubbe, skyve
Polish:
pchać, wpychać (się)
Portuguese (Brazil):
empurrar
Portuguese (Portugal):
empurrar
Romanian:
a împinge
Russian:
толкать(ся)
Slovak:
tlačiť (sa), pretlačiť (sa), strčiť
Slovenian:
potisniti
Spanish:
empujar
Swedish:
knuffa, tränga sig fram
Turkish:
itmek
push2[puʃ]verb
to try to make (someone) do something; to urge on, especially foolishly Example: She pushed him into applying for the job.
Arabic:
يَحُث
Chinese (Simplified):
促使，逼迫（某人做某事）
Chinese (Traditional):
促使，逼迫(某人做某事)
Czech:
nutit, dohnat (k)
Danish:
presse
Dutch:
druk uitoefenen
Estonian:
sundima
Finnish:
painostaa
French:
pousser (à)
German:
drängen
Greek:
πιέζω, προτρέπω
Hungarian:
sürget
Icelandic:
reka á eftir
Indonesian:
mendesak
Italian:
spingere
Japanese:
～させる
Korean:
억지로 …시키다
Latvian:
uzstāt; skubināt
Lithuanian:
spausti
Norwegian:
drive fram, tilskynde
Polish:
dopingować
Portuguese (Brazil):
impelir
Portuguese (Portugal):
incitar
Romanian:
a îndemna (să)
Russian:
подталкивать; оказывать давление
Slovak:
naliehať
Slovenian:
priganjati
Spanish:
empujar (a), presionar
Swedish:
driva på, forcera
Turkish:
zorlamak, sıkıştırmak
push3[puʃ]verb
to sell (drugs) illegally
Arabic:
يَبيعُ مُخَدِّراتٍ بصورةٍ غَيْر قانونِيَّه
Chinese (Simplified):
非法贩卖（毒品）
Chinese (Traditional):
非法販賣(毒品)
Czech:
prodávat na černo
Danish:
pushe
Dutch:
pushen
Estonian:
narkootikumidega äritsema
Finnish:
myydä huumeita
French:
revendre de la drogue
German:
mit Drogen handeln
Greek:
πουλώ ναρκωτικά
Hungarian:
kábítószerrel üzletel
Icelandic:
selja
Indonesian:
menjual secara ilegal
Italian:
spacciare
Japanese:
売りつける
Korean:
불법 판매하다
Latvian:
tirgoties ar narkotikām
Lithuanian:
prekiauti (narkotikais), prakišinėti
Norwegian:
lange, pushe (narkotika)
Polish:
handlować (narkotykami)
Portuguese (Brazil):
passar droga
Portuguese (Portugal):
passar
Romanian:
a vinde droguri
Russian:
продавать наркотики
Slovak:
predávať načierno
Slovenian:
preprodajati (mamila)
Spanish:
pasar, traficar
Swedish:
langa
Turkish:
piyasaya kaçak mal sürmek
push1[puʃ]noun
a movement of pressure against something; a thrust Example: She gave him a push.
Arabic:
دَفْعَه
Chinese (Simplified):
推进
Chinese (Traditional):
推進
Czech:
náraz, úder
Danish:
skub
Dutch:
duw
Estonian:
tõuge
Finnish:
töytäisy
French:
poussée
German:
der Stoß
Greek:
σπρωξιά
Hungarian:
lökés
Icelandic:
ÿting; hrinding
Indonesian:
dorongan
Italian:
spinta
Japanese:
押し
Korean:
밀기, 찌르기
Latvian:
grūdiens; spiediens
Lithuanian:
stūmimas, stumtelėjimas
Norwegian:
dytt, skubb, støt
Polish:
pchnięcie
Portuguese (Brazil):
empurrão
Portuguese (Portugal):
empurrão
Romanian:
ghiont; împingere
Russian:
толчок
Slovak:
náraz, úder
Slovenian:
poriv
Spanish:
empujón
Swedish:
knuff, puff
Turkish:
itme, itiş
push2[puʃ]noun
energy and determination Example: He has enough push to do well in his job.
[from the operation that puts the current information on a stack, and the fact that procedure return addresses are saved on a stack] (Also PUSH /push/ or PUSHJ /push'J/, the latter based on the PDP-10 procedure call instruction.) 1. To put something onto a stack or PDL. If one says that something has been pushed onto one's stack, it means that the Damoclean list of things hanging over ones's head has grown longer and heavier yet. This may also imply that one will deal with it _before_ other pending items; otherwise one might say that the thing was `added to my queue'. 2. vi. To enter upon a digression, to save the current discussion for later. Antonym of pop; see also stack, PDL.
Pulse\, n. [OE. pous, OF. pous, F. pouls, fr. L. pulsus (sc. venarum), the beating of the pulse, the pulse, from pellere, pulsum, to beat, strike; cf. Gr. ? to swing, shake, ? to shake. Cf. Appeal, Compel, Impel, Push.]1. (Physiol.) The beating or throbbing of the heart or blood vessels, especially of the arteries. Note: In an artery the pulse is due to the expansion and contraction of the elastic walls of the artery by the action of the heart upon the column of blood in the arterial system. On the commencement of the diastole of the ventricle, the semilunar valves are closed, and the aorta recoils by its elasticity so as to force part of its contents into the vessels farther onwards. These, in turn, as they already contain a certain quantity of blood, expand, recover by an elastic recoil, and transmit the movement with diminished intensity. Thus a series of movements, gradually diminishing in intensity, pass along the arterial system (see the Note under Heart). For the sake of convenience, the radial artery at the wrist is generally chosen to detect the precise character of the pulse. The pulse rate varies with age, position, sex, stature, physical and psychical influences, etc. 2. Any measured or regular beat; any short, quick motion, regularly repeated, as of a medium in the transmission of light, sound, etc.; oscillation; vibration; pulsation; impulse; beat; movement. The measured pulse of racing oars. --Tennyson. When the ear receives any simple sound, it is struck by a single pulse of the air, which makes the eardrum and the other membranous parts vibrate according to the nature and species of the stroke. --Burke. Pulse glass, an instrument consisting to a glass tube with terminal bulbs, and containing ether or alcohol, which the heat of the hand causes to boil; -- so called from the pulsating motion of the liquid when thus warmed. Pulse wave (Physiol.), the wave of increased pressure started by the ventricular systole, radiating from the semilunar valves over the arterial system, and gradually disappearing in the smaller branches. the pulse wave travels over the arterial system at the rate of about 29.5 feet in a second. --H. N. Martin. To feel one's pulse. (a) To ascertain, by the sense of feeling, the condition of the arterial pulse. (b) Hence, to sound one's opinion; to try to discover one's mind.
Pur"sy\, a. [OF. pourcif, poulsif, poussif, fr. pousser to push, thrust, heave, OF. also poulser: cf. F. pousse the heaves, asthma. See Push.] Fat and short-breathed; fat, short, and thick; swelled with pampering; as, pursy insolence. --Shak. Pursy important he sat him down. --Sir W. Scot.
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