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.
nudge
nounnudger
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
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
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And yet, the French president's posturing may have nudged President Trump toward pulling out of the Paris agreement, according to The Washington Post's Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Michael Birnbaum.
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One of our intrepid investigators turns out to be a huge fan of the series and uses his or her canonical knowledge to help solve the crime, amidst all sorts of winking and nudging about Hollywood superficiality and egos.
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The administration has also sought to reverse Obama-era policies meant to reduce U.S. carbon emissions, such as an electricity plan that would have nudged dirty coal out of the electricity mix.
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Can ethics and morals be tested, nudged, or molded by force of law or bureaucratic incentives?
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And finally, the Huskies’ varsity eight nudged Stanford by 1.5 seconds, posting a time of 6:36.939 in the process.
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They were nudged by dozens of lobbyists on which Uber and Lyft have spent as much as $5.5 million dollars since 2014.
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Brian Griffith, a Notre Dame recruit, was nudged out at the finish line by Minooka's Soren Knudsen at the finish line to earn a second-place medal (4:10.56).
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Standing before a Calder mobile, who hasn’t been tempted to nudge it into motion?
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
First Known Use: 1675
NUDGE Defined for English Language Learners
nudge
playDefinition of nudge for English Language Learners
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: to touch or push (someone or something) gently
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: to push (someone) gently with your elbow in order to get that person's attention
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: to encourage (someone) to do something
NUDGE Defined for Kids
Definition of nudge for Students
nudged
;nudging
1 : to touch or push gently The teacher nudged her students back to class.
2 : to attract the attention of by touching or pushing gently (as with the elbow) He nudged me and pointed to the huge cake on the table.
Definition of nudge for Students
: a slight push Judy gave Peter a nudge to wake him. — Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji
Learn More about nudge
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See words that rhyme with nudge Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for nudge Spanish Central: Translation of nudge Nglish: Translation of nudge for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of nudge for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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