nudge

verb

\ ˈnəj

nudged; nudging

Definition of nudge

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.

Other Words from nudge Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about nudge

Keep scrolling for more

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

So far, only Serbia and Montenegro have opened negotiations for joining the E.U., and each nudged a few steps closer during the Bulgarian presidency. — Julia Rone, Washington Post, "Bulgaria’s turn to lead the Council of the European Union just ended. How did things go?," 5 July 2018 Amazon company topped sales estimates for the first quarter and margins nudged higher. — Ayesha Sruti, Bloomberg.com, "Everything You Need to Know This Morning From Daybreak (Podcast)," 27 Apr. 2018 For instance, companies may be nudging a user to change sleep patterns, mood, or dietary preferences and causing unintended harm. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "Is our constant use of digital technologies affecting our brain health? We asked 11 experts.," 29 Nov. 2018 By Friday, such inland locations as Alpine, Ramona, El Cajon and Escondido could nudge 80 degrees. — Robert Krier, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Sunshine, warmth on tap for rest of work week," 27 Mar. 2018 Video from a news helicopter showed the armored vehicle nudging closer to the car as a drone hovered near the motorist’s front windshield. — Jeff Martin, The Seattle Times, "Police standoff on an Atlanta-area freeway halts traffic," 29 Mar. 2019 The Commission had hoped that this pressure, coupled with its courting of Italy’s pragmatic finance minister, Giovanni Tria, would nudge Rome into compliance. — Christopher Whittall, WSJ, "In First for Europe, Brussels Rejects Italy’s Budget," 23 Oct. 2018 Rather than silicon alternatives, the new technologies nudging their way into commercialization complement silicon PV, enabling panels to deploy in new places (on lakes and reservoirs!) or reducing the cost of maintenance (panel-cleaning robots!). — David Roberts, Vox, "Robots, floating power plants, and 2-sided panels, oh my: solar tech’s near future," 29 Aug. 2018 Taliban and the Afghan government called separate, briefly overlapping, national cease fires in June, and the administration has made its own contact with the Taliban in hopes of nudging them into talks with Kabul. — Robert Burns, The Seattle Times, "Assaults by Taliban raise questions about US plan for peace," 13 Aug. 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.