nudge

verb \ ˈnəj \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of nudge

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 mark
—Bennett Cerf

intransitive verb

: to give a nudge

She nudged and jostled through the crowd.

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nudge

noun

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nudger

noun

See nudge defined for English-language learners

See nudge defined for kids

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 of nudge from the Web

Another stop at Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard has been nudged south, closer to Ward Parkway.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "Kansas City streetcar officials change two stops on proposed extension to Plaza, UMKC | The Kansas City Star," 17 May 2018
In the front row, one female juror nodded off, falling asleep so soundly that the prosecutor paused as the judge’s clerk walked across the courtroom and nudged her awake.

— leah sottile, Longreads, "Bundyville Chapter One: A War in the Desert," 15 May 2018
In the video, first posted on Facebook, the teacher Lisa Houston can be seen slapping the student's face, pulling his hair and even nudging him with her foot.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "Teacher Retires Early After Viral Video Shows Her Pulling Black Student’s Locs," 5 May 2018
After cooling the setup, the researchers used microwaves to nudge the drum heads into correlated motions—as one throbbed up and down, the other did the opposite.

— gabriel popkin, Science | AAAS, "Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’ spotted in objects almost big enough to see," 25 Apr. 2018
The column, which was also hilarious, ended by noting that his daughter was on the cusp of adulthood, and that her tattoo was placed where a loving parent would place his hand to gently nudge her out of the nest and into the real world.

— john d'anna, azcentral, "Arizona Republic's Clay Thompson delighted readers with daily Q&A, irreverent humor," 23 Apr. 2018
Or this could be an attempt to nudge other teams to jump in front of the Bengals, hence, pushing another position player back into their lap in the first round.

— paul dehner jr., Cincinnati.com, "BX: Why the Cincinnati Bengals have Louisville QB Lamar Jackson visiting," 16 Apr. 2018
And every winter, the aquarium throws a big party, where locals turn up to nudge starfish and surfperch back into the ocean.

— Sunset, "An Epic Adventure on B.C.’s Vancouver Island," 22 Jan. 2018
Former Bank of America executive Bill Vandiver, a life trustee at Queens who had coached Sherrill on financial matters, nudged him toward taking classes himself.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "He hit bottom on Charlotte's streets. His long rebound is about to come full circle. | Charlotte Observer," 3 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of nudge

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1675

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

nudge Synonyms

Synonyms

brush, graze, kiss, shave, skim;

Near Antonyms

bang, bash, bump, clash, collide, crash, hit, impact, impinge, knock, punch, ram, slam, slap, smack, smash, swipe, thud, thwack, whack;

bounce, carom, glance, rebound, ricochet, skip;

caress, cuddle, fondle, love, pat, pet, stroke;

miss, skirt;

NUDGE Defined for English Language Learners

nudge

verb

Definition of nudge for English Language Learners

: to touch or push (someone or something) gently
: to push (someone) gently with your elbow in order to get that person's attention
: to encourage (someone) to do something