Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Origin: Perhaps from a Scandinavian language

nudge

 verb
     
nudge
1 [transitive] to push someone gently, usually with your elbow, in order to get their attention:
Jill nudged him in the ribs.
2 [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 always + adverb/preposition] to move forward slowly by pushing gently
nudge 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 action
nudge 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.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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