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jostle

 - 3 dictionary results

jos⋅tle

  [jos-uhl] verb, -tled, -tling, noun
Use jostle in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to bump, push, shove, brush against, or elbow roughly or rudely.
2. to drive or force by, or as if by, pushing or shoving: The crowd jostled him into the subway.
3. to exist in close contact or proximity with: The three families jostle each other in the small house.
4. to contend with: rival gangs continually jostling each other.
5. to unsettle; disturb: The thought jostled her complacency.
6. Slang. to pick the pocket of.
–verb (used without object)
7. to bump or brush against someone or something, as in passing or in a crowd; push or shove (often fol. by with, for, or against): He jostled for position.
8. to exist in close contact or proximity with someone or something.
9. to compete; contend.
10. Slang. to pick pockets.
–noun
11. a shock, push, bump, or brush against someone or something.
Also, justle.

Origin:
1350–1400; var. (in ME, var. sp.) of justle, equiv. to just(en) to joust + -le

Related forms:
jos⋅tle⋅ment, noun
jostler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To jostle
jos·tle   (jŏs'əl)   
v.   jos·tled, jos·tling, jos·tles

v.   intr.

  1. To come in rough contact while moving; push and shove: jostled against the others on the crowded platform.

  2. To make one's way by pushing or elbowing: jostled through the guests to the bar.

  3. To vie for an advantage or position.

  4. To be in close proximity.

  5. To pick or try to pick pockets.

v.   tr.

  1. To come into rough contact with while moving: messengers who jostle pedestrians on the sidewalk.

  2. To force by pushing or elbowing: jostled my way through the mob.

  3. To vie with for an advantage or position.

  4. To be in close proximity with: "Books written in all languages ... jostle each other on the shelf" (Virginia Woolf).

  5. To pick or try to pick the pocket of.

n.  

  1. A rough shove or push.

  2. The condition of being crowded together.


[Middle English justilen, to have sexual relations with, frequentative of justen, to joust, from Old French juster; see joust.]
jos'tler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

jostle 
1546, formed from jousten (see joust) + frequentative suffix -tle. The usual spelling 17c.-18c. was justle. An earlier meaning of the word was "to have sex with" (c.1400).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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