sh]
| 1. | to press upon or against (a thing) with force in order to move it away. |
| 2. | to move (something) in a specified way by exerting force; shove; drive: to push something aside; to push the door open. |
| 3. | to effect or accomplish by thrusting obstacles aside: to push one's way through the crowd. |
| 4. | to cause to extend or project; thrust. |
| 5. | to press or urge to some action or course: His mother pushed him to get a job. |
| 6. | to press (an action, proposal, etc.) with energy and insistence: to push a bill through Congress. |
| 7. | to carry (an action or thing) toward a conclusion or extreme: She pushed the project to completion. |
| 8. | to press the adoption, use, sale, etc., of: to push inferior merchandise on customers. |
| 9. | to press or bear hard upon, as in dealings with someone: The prosecutor pushed him for an answer. |
| 10. | to put into difficulties because of the lack of something specified (usually fol. by for): to be pushed for time. |
| 11. | Slang. to peddle (illicit drugs). |
| 12. | Informal. to be approaching a specific age, speed, or the like: The maestro is pushing ninety-two. |
| 13. | Photography. to modify (film processing) to compensate for underexposure. |
| 14. | to exert a thrusting force upon something. |
| 15. | to use steady force in moving a thing away; shove. |
| 16. | to make one's way with effort or persistence, as against difficulty or opposition. |
| 17. | to extend or project; thrust: The point of land pushed far out into the sea. |
| 18. | to put forth vigorous or persistent efforts. |
| 19. | Slang. to sell illicit drugs. |
| 20. | to move on being pushed: a swinging door that pushes easily. |
| 21. | the act of pushing; a shove or thrust. |
| 22. | a contrivance or part to be pushed in order to operate a mechanism. |
| 23. | a vigorous onset or effort. |
| 24. | a determined advance against opposition, obstacles, etc. |
| 25. | a vigorous and determined military attack or campaign: The big push began in April. |
| 26. | the pressure of circumstances, activities, etc. |
| 27. | Informal. persevering energy; enterprise. |
| 28. | Informal. a crowd or company of people. |
| 29. | British. dismissal from a job; sack. |
| 30. | Australian Slang. a gang of hoodlums. |
| 31. | push around, to treat contemptuously and unfairly; bully: She's not the kind of person who can be pushed around. |
| 32. | push off, Informal. to go away; depart: We stopped at Denver for the night and were ready to push off again the following morning. |
| 33. | push on, to press forward; continue; proceed: The pioneers, despite overwhelming obstacles, pushed on across the plains. |
| 34. | push one's luck. luck (def. 12). |
| 35. | 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. |

push (pŏŏsh) v. pushed, push·ing, push·es v. tr.
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 onTo 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 shoveAt 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. |
push
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push off
Also, shove off. Leave, set out, depart, as in The patrol pushed off before dawn, or It's time to shove off. This usage alludes to the literal meaning of a person in a boat pushing against the bank or dock to move away from the shore. [Colloquial; early 1900s]