Push

How to spell push

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce push

What does push mean?

1. verbTo exert force on something in order to move it away from oneself.
2. nounAn act of pressing on something to move it, or a determined effort.

Push in a sentence

• verb

  You have to push the heavy door to get it open.

• noun

  One firm push was enough to close the gate.

• verb

  The manager will push the team to finish the project early.

• noun

  The company made a big marketing push before the holidays.

Where does push come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English during the 1200s from Old French pousser, an earlier form of which was poulser, meaning 'to thrust, drive, or shove'. That French verb came directly from the Latin pulsare, meaning 'to beat, strike, or push repeatedly', which was itself a frequentative form built on pellere, 'to drive or set in motion'. The same Latin root quietly survives in a whole family of English words, including 'pulse', 'compulsion', 'impulse', and 'repulse', all of which carry that core idea of driving or striking. Over the centuries the spelling settled into the short, blunt 'push' we use today, and the final 'sh' sound reflects the way the French 'ss' was reshaped in English mouths. Because the word is so short and phonetic, the spelling holds few surprises, which is why it is one of the easier verbs to write from memory.

How the word is built

• push (single root, from Old French pousser, ultimately Latin pulsare 'to beat, strike')