NUDGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does nudge mean? 

• NUDGE (noun)
  The noun NUDGE has 1 sense:

1. a slight push or shake

  Familiarity information: NUDGE used as a noun is very rare.

• NUDGE (verb)
  The verb NUDGE has 2 senses:

1. to push against gently

2. push into action by pestering or annoying gently

  Familiarity information: NUDGE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NUDGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A slight push or shake

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

jog; nudge

Hypernyms ("nudge" is a kind of...):

push; pushing (the act of applying force in order to move something away)

Derivation:

nudge (to push against gently)

• NUDGE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they nudge    ... he / she / it nudges   
Past simple: nudged   
Past participle: nudged   
-ing form: nudging   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To push against gently

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

nudge; poke at; prod

Context example:

She nudged my elbow when she saw her friend enter the restaurant

Hypernyms (to "nudge" is one way to...):

force; push (move with force)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "nudge"):

jog (give a slight push to)

elbow (shove one's elbow into another person's ribs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

nudge (a slight push or shake)

nudger (someone who nudges; someone who gives a gentle push)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Push into action by pestering or annoying gently

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "nudge" is one way to...):

bear on; push (press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They nudge him to write the letter

Derivation:

nudger (someone who nudges; someone who gives a gentle push)

 Context examples 

He suddenly thrust his head forward and nudged his way in between the master's arm and body.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

This 1:2:4 resonance is considered stable and if one moon were nudged off course, it would self-correct and lock back into a stable orbit.

(Astronomers Confirm Orbital Details of TRAPPIST-1’s Least Understood Planet, NASA)

“But really and truly, you know. Are you?” growled Mr. Barkis, sliding nearer to her on the seat, and nudging her with his elbow.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The charwoman was going on; but here Leah turned and perceived me, and she instantly gave her companion a nudge.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of the giant planets in our solar system into orbits that allow them to enter Earth's neighborhood.

(Asteroid-Hunting Spacecraft Delivers a Second Year of Data, NASA)

He nudged one of his companions, and they all laughed.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He went over to her and snuggled his head in her lap, nudging her arm with his nose—an old trick of his when begging for favors.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

To complete her confusion, she saw Belle nudge Annie, and both glance from her to Laurie, who, she was happy to see, looked unusually boyish and shy.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

So when he went in with his dish, the peasant nudged his wife, and said: “Grete, that is the second.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“Hurrah for the old one!” yelled the mob, and my uncle laughed and nudged Sir John Lade.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)