Word.ws English Dictionary

if push comes to shove

if push comes to shove is the alternative form of when push comes to shove.

Meaning of when push comes to shove

Phrase

when push comes to shove

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) When the pressure is on; when the situation is critical or urgent; when the time has come for action, even if it is difficult.
    • He is not a particularly talented builder, but when push comes to shove, he can usually get the job done.

Questions about if push comes to shove

What is if push comes to shove the alternative form of?
If push comes to shove is the alternative form of when push comes to shove.

Words near if push comes to shove in the dictionary

  1. if pigs had wings
  2. if pigs had wings, they could fly
  3. if pigs had wings, they would fly
  4. if pigs had wings, they'd fly
  5. if possible
  6. if push comes to shove
  7. if so
  8. if so be
  9. if someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it
  10. if someone told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it
  11. if that

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: if push comes to shove (page history and authors); when push comes to shove (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “if push comes to shove.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/if_push_comes_to_shove. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.