English Explanatory Dictionary

elbow

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The joint between the upper arm and the forearm.
  2. Any turn or bend like that of the elbow, in a wall, building, coastline, etc.; an angular or jointed part of any structure, such as the raised arm of a chair or sofa, or a short pipe fitting, turning at an angle or bent.
  3. A detective.
  4. Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane.
  5. A hit, strike, or blow with the elbow.
  6. Two nearby crossings of a rope.
verb
  1. To push with the elbow or elbows; to forge ahead using the elbows to assist.
  2. To strike with the elbow.
  3. To nudge, jostle or push.
  4. To force (someone) to quit or lose their job so that someone else can be hired.

Pronunciation

/ˈɛlbəʊ̯/ [ˈæ̝wbɐw] /ˈɛlboʊ̯/ [ˈɛɫboʊ̯] en-us-elbow.ogg /ˈe̞lbəʉ̯/ [ˈe̞ɫbəʉ] /ˈæ̝lbəʊ̯/ /ˈe̞ʊ̯bəʉ̯/

Word forms

elbow elbows elbowing elbowed

Etymology

From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål albue (“elbow”), Norwegian Nynorsk olboge (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).

Synonyms

elbow joint

Derived words

all-elbows at one's elbow at the elbow bend one's elbow bump elbows collar and elbow crook one's elbow elbow and collar elbow bone elbow bump Elbow Cay elbow chair elbow-chair elbow-deep elbow dip elbowedness elbowful Elbowgate elbow grease elbow juice Elbow Lake elbowless elbowlike elbow macaroni elbow mentality elbow pit elbow plant elbow relation elbow rim elbowroom elbow room elbow scissors elbow shake elbow sleeve elbow tap elbow to elbow elbowy get the elbow give the elbow golfer's elbow hairy elbow syndrome know one's arse from one's elbow know one's ass from one's elbow know the difference between one's ass and one's elbow Little Elbow miner's elbow more grease to your elbow more power to your elbow out at elbow out-at-elbow rub elbows shake one's elbow sharp-elbowed street elbow tennis elbow elbower
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