pushing
/ˈpʊʃɪŋ/
pushing is the present participle and gerund of push.
Adjective
pushing (comparative more pushing, superlative most pushing)
- That pushes forward; pressing, driving.
- There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. […] Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or...1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC
- Aggressively assertive; pushy.
- Mrs. Erlynne, a pushing nobody, with a delightful lisp and Venetian-red hair[…]1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XV, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC
Meaning of push
Verb
push (third-person singular simple present pushes, present participle pushing, simple past and past participle pushed)
- To apply a force to (an object) such that it moves away from the person or thing applying the force.
- In his anger he pushed me against the wall and threatened me.
- To continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
- We are pushed for an answer.December 7, 1710, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner, Number 18
- Synonyms:
- press, urge, abet, actuate, goose, fuel, light a fire under, send, sting, bring about
- To press or urge forward; to drive.
- to push an objection too far; to push one's luck
- To continually promote (a point of view, a product for sale, etc.).
- Stop pushing the issue — I'm not interested.
- To continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal.
- Don't think that if you keep pushing harder and harder, it will make you succeed faster or earn more.2016, JoAnneh Nagler, How to be an artist without losing your mind, your shirt, or your creative compass, →ISBN, page 91
- To approach; to come close to.
- My old car is pushing 250,000 miles.
Noun
pushing (plural pushings)
- The act by which something is pushed.
- We were soon separated by the pushings and shovings of the crowd.
Forms of pushing
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more pushing |
| superlative | most pushing |
| Noun | |
| plural | pushings |
Words formed from pushing
Phrases with pushing
- pushing in
- pushing it
- pushing on
- pushing up
- pushing off
- pushing out
- pushing away
- pushing back
- pushing down
- pushing over
- pushing past
- pushing rope
31 more phrasesFewer phrases
- pushing wood
- pushing about
- pushing along
- pushing aside
- pushing paper
- pushing under
- pushing up on
- pushing around
- pushing papers
- pushing daisies
- pushing forward
- pushing schools
- pushing through
- pushing together
- pushing one's way
- pushing the limit
- pushing one's luck
- pushing up against
- pushing up daisies
- pushing and shoving
- pushing one's way in
- pushing the boat out
- pushing the envelope
- pushing water uphill
- pushing string uphill
- pushing up the daisies
- pushing someone's buttons
- pushing the right buttons
- pushing into the long grass
- pushing against an open door
- pushing the edge of the envelope
Words that rhyme with pushing
Questions about pushing
- What does pushing mean?
- Pushing means that pushes forward; pressing, driving.
- What is pushing the present participle and gerund of?
- Pushing is the present participle and gerund of push.
- What part of speech is pushing?
- Pushing can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce pushing?
- Pushing is pronounced /ˈpʊʃɪŋ/.
Words near pushing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pushing (page history and authors); push (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-pushing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pushing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pushing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.