- nudge
- [[t]nʌ̱ʤ[/t]]
nudges, nudging, nudged1) VERB If you nudge someone, you push them gently, usually with your elbow, in order to draw their attention to something.
[V n] I nudged Stan and pointed again...
[V n] `Stop it,' he said, and nudged the boy lightly with his knee.
N-COUNT: usu singNudge is also a noun.She slipped her arm under his and gave him a nudge.
2) VERB If you nudge someone or something into a place or position, you gently push them there.[V n prep/adv] Edna Swinson nudged him into the sitting room...
[V n prep/adv] The civil servant nudged him forward.
N-COUNT: usu singNudge is also a noun.McKinnon gave the wheel another slight nudge to starboard.
3) VERB If you nudge someone into doing something, you gently persuade them to do it.[V n into -ing/n] Bit by bit Bob had nudged Fritz into selling his controlling interest...
[V n towards n] Foreigners must use their power not simply to punish the country but to nudge it towards greater tolerance...
[V n to-inf] British tour companies are nudging clients to travel further afield.
N-COUNT: usu singNudge is also a noun.I had a feeling that the challenge appealed to him. All he needed was a nudge.
4) VERB: usu cont If someone or something is nudging a particular amount, level, or state, they have almost reached it.[V n] ...a little-known stage play writer and actress who was nudging 40 and going nowhere...
[V n] The temperature when we were there was nudging 80°F.
Syn:5) PHRASE: oft PHR n If you refer to a nudge and a wink or to nudge-nudge wink-wink, you mean that someone is referring to sex, especially immoral sex, in an indirect way. [mainly BRIT, JOURNALISM]The article then listed a series of nudge-nudge, wink-wink rumors that have appeared in newspapers over the last two years.
English dictionary. 2008.
