push

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To apply pressure against for the purpose of moving: push a shopping cart through the aisles of a market.
2. v. To move (an object) by exerting force against it; thrust or shove.
3. v. To force (one's way): We pushed our way through the crowd.
4. v. To urge forward or urge insistently; pressure: push a child to study harder.
5. v. To bear hard upon; press.
6. v. To exert downward pressure on (a button or keyboard, for example); press.
7. v. To extend or enlarge: push society past the frontier.
8. v. Informal To approach in age: is pushing 40 and still hasn't settled down.
9. v. Slang To promote or sell (a product): The author pushed her latest book by making appearances in bookstores.
10. v. Slang To sell (a narcotic) illegally: push drugs.
11. v. Sports To hit (a ball) in the direction toward the dominant hand of the player propelling it, as to the right of a right-handed player.
12. v. To exert outward pressure or force against something.
13. v. To advance despite difficulty or opposition; press forward.
14. v. To expend great or vigorous effort.
15. n. The act of pushing; thrust: gave the door a swift push.
16. n. A vigorous or insistent effort toward an end; a drive: a push to democracy.
17. n. A provocation to action; a stimulus.
18. n. Informal Persevering energy; enterprise.
19. push around Informal To treat or threaten to treat roughly; intimidate.
20. push off Informal To set out; depart: The infantry patrol pushed off before dawn.
21. push on To continue or proceed along one's way: The path was barely visible, but we pushed on.
22. idiom. push paper Informal To have one's time taken up by administrative, often seemingly petty, paperwork: spent the afternoon pushing paper for the boss.
23. idiom. push up daisies Slang To be dead and buried: a cemetery of heroes pushing up daisies.
24. idiom. when At 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).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To strike with a thrusting motion; thrust, as with a sword; thrust or gore, as with the horns.
2. To thrust forcibly against for the purpose of moving or impelling in a direction other than that from which the pressure is applied; exert a thrusting, driving, or impelling pressure upon; drive or impel by pressure; shove: opposed to draw: as, to push a hand-cart; to push a thing up, down, away, etc.
3. To impel in general; drive; urge.
4. To press or urge; advance or extend by persistent or diligent effort or exertion: as, to push on a work.
5. To prosecute or carry on with energy or enterprise; use every means to extend and advance: as, to push one's business; to push the sale of a commodity.
6. To press hard.
7. Synonyms To hustle, jostle, elbow, crowd, force. See thrust.
8. To thrust, as with the horns or with a sword: hence, to make an attack.
9. To exercise or put forth a thrusting or impelling pressure; use steady force in moving something in a direction the opposite of that implied in the word draw: as, to push with all one's might.
10. To advance or proceed with persistence or unflagging effort; force one's way; press eagerly or persistently; hasten; usually with on, forward, etc.: as, to push on at a rapid pace.
11. To sit abaft an oar and propel a boat with forward strokes: as, to push down a stream.
12. n. A thrust; the exercise of a driving or impelling thrust; the application of pressure intended to overturn or set in motion in the direction in which the force or pressure is applied; a shove: as, to give a thing or a person a push.
13. n. An assault or attack; a forcible onset; a vigorous effort; a stroke; a blow.
14. n. An emergency; a trial; an extremity.
15. n. Persevering energy; enterprise.
16. n. A button, pin, or similar contrivance to be pushed in conveying pressure: as, the electric bell-push.
17. n. A pustule; a pimple.
18. Same as pish.
19. In cricket, to guide or force (the ball) away from the wicket with the bat, usually to the ‘on’ side.
20. n. In cricket, a stroke by which the ball is guided or forced away from the wicket, usually to the ‘on’ side.
21. n. A gang; a set of hoodlums; in thieves' English, a set of men associated for a special robbery; hence, a clique; a party: the Government House push; to be in with the push.

Wiktionary

1. v. transitive To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away from the person or thing applying the force.
2. v. transitive To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
3. v. transitive To continually attempt to promote (a point of view).
4. v. transitive To promote a product with the intention of selling it.
5. v. informal, transitive To approach; to come close to.
6. v. intransitive To apply a force to an object such that it moves away from the person applying the force.
7. v. intransitive To tense the muscles in the abdomen in order to expel its contents.
8. v. intransitive To continue to attempt to persuade a person into a particular course of action.
9. v. To make a higher bid at an auction.
10. v. poker To make an all-in bet.
11. v. chess, transitive To move (a pawn) directly forward.
12. n. A short, directed application of force; an act of pushing.
13. n. An act of tensing the muscles of the abdomen in order to expel its contents.
14. n. A great effort (to do something).
15. n. military A marching or drill maneuver/manoeuvre performed by moving a formation (especially a company front) forward or toward the audience, usually to accompany a dramatic climax or crescendo in the music.
16. n. A wager that results in no loss or gain for the bettor as a result of a tie or even score
17. n. computing The addition of a data item to the top of a stack.
18. n. Internet, uncountable The situation where a server sends data to a client without waiting for a request, as in server push, push technology.
19. n. dated A crowd or throng or people

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Obs. or Prov. Eng. A pustule; a pimple.
2. v. To press against with force; to drive or impel by pressure; to endeavor to drive by steady pressure, without striking; -- opposed to draw.
3. v. To thrust the points of the horns against; to gore.
4. v. To press or urge forward; to drive; to push an objection too far.
5. v. To bear hard upon; to perplex; to embarrass.
6. v. To importune; to press with solicitation; to tease.
7. v. To make a thrust; to shove.
8. v. To make an advance, attack, or effort; to be energetic.
9. v. To burst pot, as a bud or shoot.
10. n. A thrust with a pointed instrument, or with the end of a thing.
11. n. Any thrust. pressure, impulse, or force, or force applied; a shove.
12. n. An assault or attack; an effort; an attempt; hence, the time or occasion for action.
13. n. The faculty of overcoming obstacles; aggressive energy.
14. n. Slang A crowd; a company or clique of associates; a gang.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. enterprising or ambitious drive
2. v. exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for
3. v. press against forcefully without moving
4. n. an effort to advance
5. v. move strenuously and with effort
6. v. sell or promote the sale of (illegal goods such as drugs)
7. v. press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action
8. n. the force used in pushing
9. n. an electrical switch operated by pressing
10. v. make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby
11. v. strive and make an effort to reach a goal
12. v. approach a certain age or speed
13. v. move with force,
14. n. the act of applying force in order to move something away
15. v. make publicity for; try to sell (a product)