jostle

verb jos·tle \ ˈjä-səl \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: jostle in a Sentence

Definition of jostle

jostled; jostling play \ˈjā-s(ə-)liŋ\

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

1 a : to come in contact or into collision with

being jostled by the crowd

b : to force by pushing : elbow

jostled his way through the crowd

c : to stir up : agitate

thunder jostled us awake

d : to exist in close proximity with

Europe, where a number of languages jostle each other
—D. G. Mandelbaum

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

See jostle defined for English-language learners

See jostle defined for kids

Examples of jostle in a Sentence

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 of jostle from the Web

On a recent afternoon, dozens of people jostled, pushing their aluminum or plastic food containers to be filled.

— Washington Post, "Aid freeze, politics push Gaza’s people deeper into poverty," 9 June 2018
Here's coffee, American-style: Rush in, jostle in line, try to remember the difference between a flat white and a macchiato, settle in with a laptop and free WiFi, ear buds in your ears, and ignore everything around you.

— kathleen purvis, charlotteobserver, "3 coffee stops on Central Avenue that will rock your world | Charlotte Observer," 4 Apr. 2018
Rising fuel costs jostled shares of each of the largest U.S. airlines this past week.

— laine higgins, WSJ, "The Score: The Business Week in 7 Stocks," 13 July 2018
While England was setting up for a free kick, players from both teams were jostling for position.

— pete grathoff, kansascity, "Should Colombia player have gotten a red card for this head-butt at World Cup?," 3 July 2018
Voters jostle to clasp her hands, look in her eyes, and tell her about their troubles.

— lizzie wade, Science | AAAS, "Can this environmental engineer—now elected mayor—fix Mexico City?," 2 July 2018
Litigants in the lawsuits filed by New York City, King County in Washington State, and in Colorado (City of Boulder, Boulder County, and San Miguel County), are still jostling over which courts should hear the cases.

— umair irfan, Vox, "San Francisco and Oakland sued oil companies for causing climate change. A judge dismissed the cases.," 26 June 2018
The announcement, made at the end of the trading day, jostled investors with Starbucks shares falling about 1.6 percent after hours.

— zlati meyer, USA TODAY, "Starbucks pulling the plug on more of its worst-performing cafes," 19 June 2018
On a recent afternoon, dozens of people jostled, pushing their aluminum or plastic food containers to be filled.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Amid growing poverty in Gaza, aid trickles in," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jostle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of jostle

alteration of justle, frequentative of ¹joust

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1546

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

jostle Synonyms

Synonyms

bore, bull, bulldoze, crash, elbow, jam, muscle, press, push, shoulder, squeeze;

Related Words

ram, shove, thrust;

jostle

noun

Definition of jostle

1 : the experience of being pushed or jostled (see ¹jostle)

might glide through … life among them without a jostle
—Thomas Jefferson

2 : 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

Recent Examples of jostle from the Web

This allowed the jostle of distinctive forms, rather than a monolithic mass.

— john king, SFChronicle.com, "Well-crafted Jackson Square condos rich in design inspiration," 2 July 2018
In the engrossing West Cork, about the 1996 murder in Ireland of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier, four accents in English jostle for dominance—and, with them, worldviews.

— virginia heffernan, WIRED, "Seduce Me! The Untainted Sweet Sounds of Accent-Riddled Podcasts," 1 June 2018
Bright blue banners for al-Sadr's election alliance jostle for space along streets lined with martyr posters and images of al-Sadr and his father.

— susannah george, Fox News, "Iraqi Shiite cleric gained ground with nationalist voice," 14 May 2018
The sequence starts along the half-wall, where a cluster of white and black jerseys jostles for possession.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "A Game of Oddities: Tampa Bay's Game 4 Win Over Boston Featured Several Puzzling Moments," 5 May 2018
After Allison grabbed the wheel, Martin felt the bus jostle and swerved to the right, off the road.

— emily foxhall, San Antonio Express-News, "Channelview band director hailed as hero in wake of Alabama bus crash," 14 Mar. 2018
The system uses hydraulic stops to help absorb and dissipate energy when the suspension compresses and rebounds, improving ride quality over bumps by limiting the typical jostle of springs and dampers.

— greg fink, Car and Driver, "Prickly Issue: Citroen Makes Its C4 Cactus More Normal," 6 Mar. 2018
These latest quakes were caused by the movement of tectonic plates, the pieces of Earth’s crust that move and jostle against each other.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "How Mexico City’s Unique Geology Makes Deadly Earthquakes Even Worse," 20 Sep. 2017
These onions go down amid what at times can be a crowded, chaotic scene, in which diners wait for seats and jostle for access to condiment dispensers, trash cans, silverware bins and soda machines.

— matt stiles, latimes.com, "Costco stores in South Korea offer chopped onions for hot dogs. Koreans have a different idea," 19 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of jostle

see ¹jostle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1611

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

JOSTLE Defined for English Language Learners

jostle

verb

Definition of jostle for English Language Learners

: to push against (someone) while moving forward in a crowd of people

JOSTLE Defined for Kids

jostle

verb jos·tle \ ˈjä-səl \

Definition of jostle for Students

jostled; jostling

: to push roughly

… people were … jostling and trying to get a bit closer to the famous girl.
—Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Learn More about jostle

See words that rhyme with jostle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for jostle Spanish Central: Translation of jostle Nglish: Translation of jostle for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of jostle for Arabic speakers

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jostle

Definition of jostle

Examples of jostle in a Sentence

Recent Examples of jostle from the Web

Origin and Etymology of jostle

jostle Synonyms

Synonyms

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jostle

Definition of jostle

Recent Examples of jostle from the Web

Origin and Etymology of jostle

JOSTLE Defined for English Language Learners

jostle

Definition of jostle for English Language Learners

JOSTLE Defined for Kids

jostle

Definition of jostle for Students

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