jostled; jostling
ˈjā-s(ə-)liŋ 
1
a
: to come in contact or into collision
a jostling crowd
b
: to make one's way by pushing and shoving
people jostling toward the exit
c
: to exist in close proximity
2
: to vie in gaining an objective : contend
tribes began to jostle with one another for room—
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe1
2
: to vie with in attaining an objective
an enormous industry in which a great many companies and interests jostle each other fiercely—Washington Post
Washington Post1
: the experience of being pushed or jostled (see jostle entry 1)
might glide through … life among them without a jostle—Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson2
: the state of being crowded or pushed together : the state of being jostled
the state fair is deliberately about the crowds and jostle, the noise and overload of sight and event—David Foster Wallace
David Foster WallaceSynonyms
Examples of jostle in a Sentence
Verb
Everyone in the crowd was jostling each other trying to get a better view.
everyone glared at the man who jostled to the front of the line
Recent Examples on the WebAlicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
Footage showed people taking photos and videos, jostling to get close, as passports were opened and placed on two corpses wearing bulletproof vests.
—Aric Toler, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
That all being said, there’s now mounting evidence the exit market’s starting to jostle out of gridlock.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024
As Apple suggests, try keeping your phone in a dry area and gently tapping the device with the connection port facing down to jostle any drops out of there.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024
Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA three weeks ago, after he was ejected for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face while the two were jostling for position.
—Eric He, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
One morning, his mom jostled him from sleep with a phone call.
—Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2024
But while his desire to evoke the druggy euphoria of early U.K. club music has sometimes jostled against his ear for atmosphere (as on his contributions to the Shock Power of Love split with Blackdown), those two extremes are more fully integrated than ever on these two 13-minute tracks.
—Daniel Bromfield, SPIN, 13 Mar. 2024
Ruffin does nail some sly bits of jostling banter and one-upmanship among Dorothy’s crew that makes the characters feel a little more real.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2024
José Sánchez Córdova, Dallas News, 11 July 2023
But to invoke hand-to-hand combat, and infliction of actual physical violence, as a jostle for computer-app supremacy does ring new bells.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 23 June 2023
The bed jostles, a noiseless vibration, as heart monitors unstick themselves from her chest and retreat into the EKG monitor.
—Annalee Newitz, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2023
In Los Angeles or San Francisco, agitation of this sort was the usual jostle.
—Mark Arax, New York Times, 1 June 2023
The officer places his hand on the holster and hunches over while the two jostle outside the gas station.
—Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 25 May 2023
As their twin narratives continue, Auburn jostles audience expectations, steering the story away from potentially melodramatic plot points, eschewing sentimentality — even offering a flight of fancy or two.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Apr. 2023
With the loss, Dallas (36-37) fell 1.5 games behind sixth-place Golden State (38-36) in the jostle to finish among the top six automatic postseason qualifiers and avoid the 7th-through-10-place play-in tournament.
—Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
The case of the Marshall Islands is emblematic of the increasingly fervent geopolitical competition in the Pacific as the United States and China jostle for influence.
—Pete McKenzie, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2023
Verb
The two appear to briefly jostle for the microphone before Fisk releases her grip.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
Footage showed people taking photos and videos, jostling to get close, as passports were opened and placed on two corpses wearing bulletproof vests.
—Aric Toler, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
That all being said, there’s now mounting evidence the exit market’s starting to jostle out of gridlock.
—Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024
As Apple suggests, try keeping your phone in a dry area and gently tapping the device with the connection port facing down to jostle any drops out of there.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024
Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA three weeks ago, after he was ejected for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face while the two were jostling for position.
—Eric He, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
One morning, his mom jostled him from sleep with a phone call.
—Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2024
But while his desire to evoke the druggy euphoria of early U.K. club music has sometimes jostled against his ear for atmosphere (as on his contributions to the Shock Power of Love split with Blackdown), those two extremes are more fully integrated than ever on these two 13-minute tracks.
—Daniel Bromfield, SPIN, 13 Mar. 2024
Ruffin does nail some sly bits of jostling banter and one-upmanship among Dorothy’s crew that makes the characters feel a little more real.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2024
Noun
The Barbie events will come as Gerwig’s film jostles with Christopher Nolan’s drama Oppenheimer for box office supremacy.
—José Sánchez Córdova, Dallas News, 11 July 2023
But to invoke hand-to-hand combat, and infliction of actual physical violence, as a jostle for computer-app supremacy does ring new bells.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 23 June 2023
The bed jostles, a noiseless vibration, as heart monitors unstick themselves from her chest and retreat into the EKG monitor.
—Annalee Newitz, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2023
In Los Angeles or San Francisco, agitation of this sort was the usual jostle.
—Mark Arax, New York Times, 1 June 2023
The officer places his hand on the holster and hunches over while the two jostle outside the gas station.
—Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 25 May 2023
As their twin narratives continue, Auburn jostles audience expectations, steering the story away from potentially melodramatic plot points, eschewing sentimentality — even offering a flight of fancy or two.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Apr. 2023
With the loss, Dallas (36-37) fell 1.5 games behind sixth-place Golden State (38-36) in the jostle to finish among the top six automatic postseason qualifiers and avoid the 7th-through-10-place play-in tournament.
—Brad Townsend, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
The case of the Marshall Islands is emblematic of the increasingly fervent geopolitical competition in the Pacific as the United States and China jostle for influence.
—Pete McKenzie, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jostle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near jostle
Cite this Entry
“Jostle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jostle. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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