jostle

verb

jos·tle | \ ˈjä-səl

jostled; jostling\ ˈjā-s(ə-)liŋ

Definition of jostle

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1a : 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

1a : 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

jostle

noun

Definition of jostle (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about jostle

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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 Web: Verb

Four parties are polling at around 20%, as Labour and the Tories jostle with the Liberal Democrats and the new Brexit Party (see chart). — The Economist, "Britain’s four-party politics looks like a lottery," 11 July 2019 Chaos ensued as reporters and photographers jostled to get the best positions to witness the historic moment and security officials tried to rein them in. — William Cummings, USA TODAY, "White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham bruised amid scuffle by reporters with North Korean guards," 30 June 2019 The incident happened at the entrance of the stadium as the crowd jostled to get through the gate at the Mahamasina stadium in the capital Antananarivo. — Stephanie Busari And Bukola Adebayo, CNN, "Madagascar stadium stampede kills 16 during celebrations," 27 June 2019 The deputy instructed Salmons, who was in jail on suspicion of stealing a vehicle, to nudge Larson, according to the district attorney’s death-in-custody review, so Salmons jostled Larson’s mattress. — Jason Pohl, ProPublica, "There Has Been an Explosion of Homicides in California’s County Jails. Here’s Why.," 15 June 2019 Stevedores barked conflicting orders as shippers jostled to get their cargo inside. — Rowan Moore Gerety, Harper's magazine, "Downstream," 10 June 2019 This district of drab industrial buildings outside Florence is getting crowded as high-end fashion houses jostle for an edge in one of the industry’s most important products: the expensive leather handbag. — Matthew Dalton, WSJ, "The Home of ‘Made in Italy’ Handbags Is Booming," 29 Mar. 2019 Cars jostle, jumping forward a spot here, a spot or two there, tucking in behind a car making a move, reducing the drag on the tail of the car in front of them, propelling them both forward. — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "One Day at Daytona," 22 Mar. 2019 So far, 11 Conservative lawmakers are jostling to replace her. — Washington Post, "UK’s Brexit Party narrowly defeated in key electoral test," 7 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Both teams rushed out on the field, but there were no punches thrown; there were a few solid shoves, many light jostles and several pairs of teammates restraining each other. — Emma Baccellieri, SI.com, "'What Are You Looking At?': The Question That Started the Pirates-Braves Basebrawl," 10 June 2019 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 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.