nudge

verb

nudged; nudging

transitive verb

1
: to touch or push gently
nudged the cue ball with the tip of the cue.Paul Theroux
especially : to seek the attention of by a push of the elbow
nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy … J. K. Rowling
2
: to prod lightly : urge into action
… have been nudged into starting their own ventures …Janet Bamford
3
: approach
its circulation is nudging the four million markBennett Cerf

intransitive verb

: to give a nudge
She nudged and jostled through the crowd.
nudge noun
nudger noun

Examples of nudge in a Sentence

I nudged the plate closer to him. The guard nudged the prisoner forward. The dog nudged the ball with his nose. He nudged me and pointed to the deer. The salesman nudged her into testing out the car. Album sales are nudging the one million mark. The price of gold has nudged a little higher.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Shares of the company rose 10.5 percent to $381 in after-hours trading on Thursday as the company topped earnings expectations and nudged up its outlook, with strong international growth buttressing the Americas business. Evan Clark, WWD, 5 Dec. 2024 So, giving people a chance to process reward information first, seemed to nudge them towards patience. Christian B. Miller, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024 Creating a false sense of urgency The fear of missing out on a good deal can nudge consumers into making impulse buys. Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 28 Nov. 2024 Workplace quality: Bosses are often nudged to be nice. Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nudge 

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1675, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nudge was in 1675

Dictionary Entries Near nudge

Cite this Entry

“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nudge. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

nudge

verb
nudged; nudging
: to touch or push gently
especially : to attract the attention of by a push of the elbow
nudge noun

More from Merriam-Webster on nudge

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!