Webster's English Dictionary

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push

1. push \'pu.sh\ \'pu.sh-e-\ vb [ME pusshen, fr. OF poulser to beat, push, 
   fr. L pulsare, fr.] pulsus, pp. of pellere to drive, strike - more at FELT 
   1a: to press against with force in order to drive or impel  1b: to move or 
   endeavor to move away or ahead by steady pressure without s triking 2: to 
   thrust forward, downward, or outward  3a: to press or urge forward to 
   completion with insistence  3b: to prosecute with vigor or effectiveness  
   4: to bear hard upon so as to involve in difficulty  1: to press against 
   something with steady force in or as if in order to im pel 2: to press 
   forward against opposition or with energy  3: to exert oneself 
   continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an en d (as success or 
   social advancement) move ahead or aside by force. PUSH implies application 
   of force by a body already in contact with the body to be moved; SHOVE 
   implies a fast or rough pushing of something usu. along a surface; THRUST 
   suggests less steadiness and greater violence than PUSH; PROPEL suggests 
   rapidly driving forward or onward by force applied in any manner - push.er 
   n SYN syn PUSH, SHOVE, THRUST, PROPEL mean to cause to 
2. push n 1: a vigorous effort to attain an end : DRIVE :  1a: a military 
   assault or offensive  1b: an advance overcoming obstacles  1c: a campaign 
   to promote a product  2: a time for action : EMERGENCY  3a: an act of 
   pushing : SHOVE  3b1: a physical force steadily applied in a direction away 
   from the body ex erting it 3b2: INFLUENCE, URGE  3c: vigorous enterprise or 
   energy  4a: an exertion of influence to promote another's interests  4b: 
   stimulation to activity : IMPETUS