elbowing

Verb

elbow (third-person singular simple present elbows, present participle elbowing, simple past and past participle elbowed)

1. (transitive) To push with the elbow or elbows; to forge ahead using the elbows to assist.
   • He elbowed his way through the crowd.
2. To strike with the elbow.
   • Trumper elbowed me in the ribs and made a sign with his head. He seemed irritated now by our delay.1953, George Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, McGraw Hill Books Company, Inc., published 1954, page 166
3. To nudge, jostle or push.
   • Suddenly and with all her heart Kate longed to be home, back at the homestead, to participate in the rambunctious toss and jostle as breakup elbowed its way into the Park.1993, Dana Stabenow, A Fatal Thaw, →ISBN, page 105
4. (informal) To force (someone) to quit or lose their job so that someone else can be hired.
   • The president was elbowed out of power by members of her own party.

See all 10 meanings of elbow