nudgenudge /nʌdʒ/ verb 
Jill nudged him in the ribs.► see thesaurus at push2[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move something or someone a short distance by gently pushing: She nudged the glass towards me. David nudged me out of the way.3[intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move forward slowly by pushing gentlynudge your way to/through etc (something) I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd.4[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to gently persuade or encourage someone to take a particular decision or actionnudge somebody into/towards something We’re trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.5[transitive] to almost reach a particular level or amount: Outside the temperature was nudging 30 degrees Celsius.—nudge noun [countable]: Hannah gave me a gentle nudge.
WORD ORIGINnudge
Origin:
1600-1700 Perhaps from a Scandinavian languageVERB TABLE
nudge
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | nudge |
| he, she, it | nudges | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | nudged |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have nudged |
| he, she, it | has nudged | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had nudged |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will nudge |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have nudged |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am nudging |
| he, she, it | is nudging | |
| you, we, they | are nudging | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was nudging |
| you, we, they | were nudging | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been nudging |
| he, she, it | has been nudging | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been nudging |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be nudging |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been nudging |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- An old woman nudged her way to the back of the bus.
- Christine nudged me and giggled.
- Southeast winds nudged the oil slick onto the shore.
- Temperatures were already nudging into the 80s before dawn today.
- They nudged each other as the principal called their names.
- Toby nudged my arm. "That's the guy I told you about," he whispered.
- A heavily burnt in sky will blend better with the foreground as the flash will nudge those highlights along.
- Benjamin nudged me as Westminster Abbey came into view.
- But he didn't nudge him.
- Death must be nudged, hurried, if only it could be.
- Eventually, I was nudged into management.
- She was also instrumental in nudging him into giving 25 percent of the positions in the Socialist Party to women.
- They were satisfied to learn, to come up with new ideas, and to nudge the field forward.
THESAURUS
to make something or someone move by pressing them with your hands, arms etc: · Push the door, don’t pull it.· She pushed him away and walked out.
to push someone or something in a rough or careless way: · People were shoving to get to the front of the queue.· Tom shoved his suitcase under the bed.
informal to push something quickly and carelessly into a small space: · She stuffed a few clothes into a bag and left.
to push someone or something with your finger or something sharp: · I poked the snake with a stick but it was dead.
to push someone beside you gently with your elbow to get their attention: · Toby nudged me and pointed out of the window.
to push something round or something on wheels so that it moves forward: · They rolled the logs down the hill.· The car still didn’t start so we tried to roll it off the road.
to push something with wheels, for example a bicycle or a trolley, so that it moves forward, while guiding it with your hands: · Rob wheeled his bike round the back of the house.
Longman Language Activatorto push someone or something with your finger, elbow, or with something pointed to gently push someone with your elbow to get their attention, especially when you do not want anyone else to notice: · Toby nudged my arm. "That's the guy I told you about," he whispered.· Christine nudged me and giggled.
to push someone or something with your finger or with something sharp: · The boys poked the fish with sticks to see if it was still alivepoke somebody in the eye/side/ribs: · Careful with that stick! You nearly poked me in the eye.
to gently push someone or something, using your finger or something such as a stick: · Sergeant Thompson raised his stick and prodded the soldier in the chest.· They walked around him, prodding and pinching him.
to suddenly push your finger or elbow into someone's body, to get their attention or tell them something: · Jenny dug me sharply in the ribs and told me to be quiet.· Edward laughed loudly, digging me in the ribs, wanting me to share the joke.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd. Hannah gave me a gentle nudge.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
1[transitive] to push someone gently, usually with your elbow, in order to get their attention: I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd. Hannah gave me a gentle nudge.· Now the cloth above the encircling fingers seemed to move, nudged this way and that by something underneath.· Unzip, nudge your way in and keep an eye out for bar staff.· Or April, when all manner of little things nudge their way towards the sun.
Jill nudged him in the ribs.► see thesaurus at push2[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move something or someone a short distance by gently pushing: She nudged the glass towards me. David nudged me out of the way.3[intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move forward slowly by pushing gentlynudge your way to/through etc (something) I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd.4[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to gently persuade or encourage someone to take a particular decision or actionnudge somebody into/towards something We’re trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.5[transitive] to almost reach a particular level or amount: Outside the temperature was nudging 30 degrees Celsius.—nudge noun [countable]: Hannah gave me a gentle nudge.