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🤚 To move away 🙌 To encourage strongly 🚀 To try hard 🛒 To promote forcefully ⚡ Energy or drive 💪 A forceful move 📲 To send data 🤰 To give birth 🎂 To approach age 🔔 Data delivery
to push

to push

262 4.0
To try to sell something forcefully, often illegal goods
  • verb
  • /pʊʃ/
translation icon : impulsar
  • The salesperson worked hard to push the new product during the launch event.
  • push hard
  • push a product forward
  • try to push

Instead, they're helping push more government on us.

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Examples

  • Many believe lawyers in other countries are going to push eLawyering further and faster, especially in England.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Instead, they're helping push more government on us.

    Megyn Kelly

  • We're just going to push all of that product in.

  • My, my favorite thing to push people towards is to sell something.

  • Agents who knew the myth was a lie might still push it for political gain.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The malls, the high schools, they are pushing product out.

    Zane and Heath: UNFILTERED

  • Now, Cappy, I want your department to push our new slogan.

    Robots (2005)

  • In Congress, meanwhile, some lawmakers are pushing legislation to outlaw all racial preferences in federal programs.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Since installing its first one commercially in 1998, Penn Crusher has been pushing them hard.

    Academic text (2001)

  • In Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley is a self-proclaimed "TIF guy" who pushes the strategy to the limit.

    Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

to drive
vsto push
∞ 3.6

To cause someone to want to do something strongly

is more directly tied to forceful selling or persistent promotion
to press
vsto push
285 3.9

Ask someone firmly and repeatedly to do something

is more forceful and aimed at selling or promoting items
to promote
vsto push
252 3.5

Tell people about a product to increase sales

emphasizes harder, persistent selling rather than neutral publicity
to advertise
vsto push
198 2.7

Tell many people about a product or service to make them want it

is similar but less forceful and more neutral about selling
to hype
vsto push
53 4.4

To promote something with exaggerated, flashy advertising to get attention

is similar but relies more on forceful, persistent methods to sell
to prod
vsto push
8 3.6

To push someone a little to make them start doing something

is more forceful and persistent, aimed at selling or promoting
to propagandize
vsto push
  • Literature
5 9.1

To try to make many people believe false or one-sided information

shares influence aim but focuses more on aggressive selling or promotion
to evangelize
vsto push
  • Jargon
3 7.4

Actively promote a product or idea to get people to use it

is similar but often uses stronger pressure and persistence to sell
to advertize
vsto push
  • US
2.7

To tell many people about a product or service so they buy it

has identical meaning but differs as an alternative spelling form

Idioms

to push the envelope
33 7.3

To try new ideas that go beyond accepted limits

push comes to shove
  • Informal
3 7.2

A situation that becomes serious and needs you to act

to push someone's buttons
  • Informal
1 7.1

To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone

to push it to the limit
  • Informal
1 7.2

Use all your energy and take big risks to test your skill

to push up daisies
  • Informal
1 8.9

To be dead and buried, often said as a joke

to push the boat out
  • UK
1 8.7

Spend a lot of money for a special celebration

to push against an open door
  • Informal
6.6

To try to make something happen when it is already easy or people already agree

to push one's luck
  • Informal
6.8

To risk losing success by asking for more than is wise

to push water uphill
  • Informal
9.6

Try to do something that is very hard or impossible

to push under the carpet
  • UK
7.3

To ignore or hide problems instead of dealing with them

Phrasal Verbs

to push back
97 3.9

Force a person or thing to move backward in body and feeling

to push around
  • Informal
66 5.6

To treat someone in a bossy way so they do what you want

to push away
43 3.2

To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally

to push through
39 3.6

To keep going despite problems until you finish

to push it
  • Informal
39 5.3

To try very hard to do more than usual

to push away
37 2.0

To move something away from you by pushing with your hands

to push on
21 3.7

Move forward or keep going despite difficulty

to push forward
19 3.1

To keep making progress despite problems

to push out
16 3.2

To move something outward using force

to push down
16 2.0

Make something move down by using force

to push off
  • Informal
14 6.8

Leave a place or start a journey

to push up
11 2.1

Move something to a higher place by pushing from below or behind

to push people away
8 5.6

Act in a way that makes other people avoid you

to push out
  • Jargon
8 3.5

To send updates or new content to users over the internet

to push aside
7 4.1

Refuse to think about something, for example worries or objections

to push to the limit
7 5.1

Make a person or thing work as hard as possible until they cannot keep going

to push aside
6 2.1

Move something or someone out of the way with your hands

to push forward
6 3.6

To move ahead by pushing people or things out of the way

to push in
  • UK
5 5.6

To join a line or enter a place without waiting your turn

to push one's way through
4 3.9

Move forward by getting past people or things blocking the way

to push oneself harder
4 3.5

Try much harder to work or train

to push through
4 3.8

To break through soil or skin when new growth appears

to push the meeting
1 3.2

Move a meeting to a later time or day

to push one's way past
  • Informal
5.6

Move forward through a crowd by forcing people aside with your body

to push for a raise
  • US
3.5

To ask firmly for more pay from your boss

to push into overdrive
6.1

To work much harder and faster to get something done

to push through adversity
5.3

To keep trying and do well despite difficult times

Compounds

push button
1 1.9

A small switch you press with a finger to control a machine like a coffee maker or elevator

push-button
1 3.0

It works when you press a button

push broom
1 3.2

A wide cleaning tool with a long handle that you push to sweep floors

push-bike
  • UK
1 2.7

A bicycle that you move by pedalling

push-button radio
1 3.5

A radio you change stations on by pressing preset buttons instead of turning a dial

push-button
1 4.1

Designers make it very simple so anyone can use it

bell push
  • UK
4.6

A button on a door or wall you press to ring a bell at an entrance

push-down queue
  • Specialized
7.7

A pile where the last item put on is the first taken off

push-down stack
  • Specialized
6.0

A list where the last item added is the first removed

push-down storage
  • Specialized
7.8

A way to store items so the last one added is the first taken out

push-down store
  • Specialized
8.2

A storage where the last thing put in comes out first, like a pile of plates

push-button
2.2

A small switch that you press with a finger

push-down list
  • Specialized
7.5

A list where the last thing you put in comes out first

How Aggressive

to tout
65 6.1
to push
262 4.0
to promote
252 3.5
mention
220 2.5

Surface Forms

push infinitive
pushed past
pushed past participle
pushing present participle
pushes third person singular

Etymology

The verb push used for selling or forcing goods comes from the same idea as Old French pousser and Latin pellere 'to drive'. To 'push' goods is like forcefully moving them on to people, which is why we say someone 'pushes' products or illegal items.