nudged; nudging
1
: to touch or push gently
… nudged the cue ball with the tip of the cue.—
Paul Theroux
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
J. K. Rowling 2
: to prod lightly : urge into action
… have been nudged into starting their own ventures …—Janet Bamford
Janet Bamford3
: approach
its circulation is nudging the four million mark—Bennett Cerf
Bennett Cerf
: to give a nudge
She nudged and jostled through the crowd.
nudge
noun
nudger
noun
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
Its success nudged competitors to make their own EVs more enticing, and Tesla capitalized on its head start, continuing to develop its tech and create new cars, including 2017’s Model 3, which also made TIME’s list.
—Merrill Fabry, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
One solution is to nudge companies back into the public markets by reducing the burden.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
The scores reflected the judges' differing opinions, with Hough downgrading from his eight of last week to a score of seven and Inaba nudging up to an eight.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
Larsson has been busy reorienting PVH so that it is focused on taking full advantage of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein’s potential and recently nudged up the company’s revenue forecast.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nudge
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Merrill Fabry, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
One solution is to nudge companies back into the public markets by reducing the burden.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
The scores reflected the judges' differing opinions, with Hough downgrading from his eight of last week to a score of seven and Inaba nudging up to an eight.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
Larsson has been busy reorienting PVH so that it is focused on taking full advantage of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein’s potential and recently nudged up the company’s revenue forecast.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Cite this Entry
“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nudge. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nudge
verb
nudged; nudging
: to touch or push gently
especially
: to attract the attention of by a push of the elbow
nudge
noun
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