Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to push the boat out

to push the boat out

1 8.7
Spend a lot of money for a special celebration
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : gastar a lo grande
  • I pushed the boat out and got us a suite.

Examples

  • When they graduated, their parents encouraged them to push the boat out and enjoy a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant.

  • For her birthday, he really wanted to push the boat out and throw a lavish party with all their friends.

  • I thought we might push the boat out.

    The History Boys (2006)

  • Don't forget to push the boat out, Bookie.

    Nine Men (1943)

  • However, if you wish to make something the bride will remember fondly as her final day of being single, then you'll need to push the boat out.

    Blog text (33)

  • To celebrate their anniversary, they decided to push the boat out and rent a luxury yacht for the weekend.

Synonyms

to splash out
vsto push the boat out
  • UK
1 7.2

Spend a lot of money on something, usually to celebrate or treat yourself

spends lavishly specifically for a special celebration or occasion

Antonyms

to save money
257 1.3

To put money aside instead of spending it now

How Lavish

to splash out
  • UK
1 7.2
splurge
  • Informal
8 6.9
to push the boat out
  • UK
1 8.7
to spend
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

push the boat out infinitive
pushed the boat out past
pushed the boat out past participle
pushing the boat out present participle
pushes the boat out third person singular

Morphology

push + the + boat + out

The meaning 'to spend a lot of money' is not derivable from the literal constituents 'push' + 'boat' + 'out' for an average B1 learner; the phrase is a culturally specific idiom whose sense is historically metaphorical rather than compositionally predictable. Because the connection between pushing a boat out and extravagantly spending is not a transparent or cross‑linguistic pattern, learners who only know the individual words are unlikely to infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The idiom push the boat out may come from the image of people literally pushing a boat away from the shore so they could have a special, fancy party on the water. That's why it now means 'to spend a lot of money', especially to celebrate.