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to push

to push

37 7.4
To be almost a particular age or amount
  • verb
  • /pʊʃ/
  • Informal
translation icon : acercarse a
  • You know, and they're pushing the age even earlier.

You know, for you, you would literally pushing on death's door quite often.

Examples

  • I mean, she must be pushing 50.

  • You're pushing 30.

  • Which means I am pushing about 36 hours of no sleep.

  • I was just I was like, man, I'm really pushing that biological clock.

  • I was pushing 30.

  • I'm pushing 40.

  • Aunt Velda is pushing seventy-five, but she's as strong as she was at sixty and twice as stubborn.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • She is pushing 40 and still hasn't decided on her career path.

  • I can't believe he's pushing 50; he looks so youthful!

  • At this rate, we will be pushing 30 when we finally buy a house.

Idioms

To try new ideas that go beyond accepted limits

3 7.2

A situation that becomes serious and needs you to act

1 7.1

To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone

1 7.2

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

1 8.9

To be dead and buried, often said as a joke

Spend a lot of money for a special celebration

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

6.8

To risk losing success by asking for more than is wise

9.6

Try to do something that is very hard or impossible

To ignore or hide problems instead of dealing with them

Phrasal Verbs

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

43 3.2

To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally

To keep going despite problems until you finish

to push it
  • Informal
39 5.3

To try very hard to do more than usual

37 2.0

To move something away from you by pushing with your hands

21 3.7

Move forward or keep going despite difficulty

To keep making progress despite problems

16 3.2

To move something outward using force

16 2.0

Make something move down by using force

to push off
  • Informal
14 6.8

Leave a place or start a journey

11 2.1

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

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

Refuse to think about something, for example worries or objections

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

Move something or someone out of the way with your hands

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

5 5.6

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

Move forward by getting past people or things blocking the way

Try much harder to work or train

To break through soil or skin when new growth appears

Move a meeting to a later time or day

5.6

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

To ask firmly for more pay from your boss

To work much harder and faster to get something done

To keep trying and do well despite difficult times

Compounds

1 1.9

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

1 3.0

It works when you press a button

1 3.2

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

1 2.7

A bicycle that you move by pedalling

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

1 4.1

Designers make it very simple so anyone can use it

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

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 Close

to reach
1.1
to push
  • Informal
37 7.4

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

The phrase pushing an age comes from the idea of moving toward a point, from Latin pellere 'to drive'. So if someone is pushing ninety they are being driven up toward that age, almost there.