nudged; nudging
1
: to touch or push gently
… nudged the cue ball with the tip of the cue.—
Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux
especially
: to seek the attention of by a push of the elbow
… nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy … —J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling 2
: to prod lightly : urge into action
… have been nudged into starting their own ventures …—Janet Bamford
Janet Bamford3
: approach
… its circulation is nudging the four million mark …—Bennett Cerf
Bennett Cerf
: to give a nudge
She nudged and jostled through the crowd.
nudge
noun
nudger
noun
Examples of nudge in a Sentence
I nudged the plate closer to him.
The guard nudged the prisoner forward.
The dog nudged the ball with his nose.
He nudged me and pointed to the deer.
The salesman nudged her into testing out the car.
Album sales are nudging the one million mark.
The price of gold has nudged a little higher.
Recent Examples on the Web
Bing Thomas ran over to me and nudged Ted Waters aside.
—
Will MacKin,
New Yorker,
28 June 2026
And researchers aren’t even sure cloud seeding is the right technology to physically nudge weather systems.
—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
27 June 2026
The other day, when the top golfer on earth, Scottie Scheffler, scorched the course with a 60, a fan with a little buzz going nudged me on my way out to the parking lot.
—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2026
Mora picked the ball up on halfway and just kept on motoring forward, moving towards two runners on the right, eventually nudging the ball through for Jorge Sanchez, who bundled the ball across for Quinones to finish.
—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
26 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nudge
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Will MacKin,
New Yorker,
28 June 2026
And researchers aren’t even sure cloud seeding is the right technology to physically nudge weather systems.
—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
27 June 2026
The other day, when the top golfer on earth, Scottie Scheffler, scorched the course with a 60, a fan with a little buzz going nudged me on my way out to the parking lot.
—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
27 June 2026
Mora picked the ball up on halfway and just kept on motoring forward, moving towards two runners on the right, eventually nudging the ball through for Jorge Sanchez, who bundled the ball across for Quinones to finish.
—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
26 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Cite this Entry
“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nudge. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nudge
verb
nudged; nudging
: to touch or push gently
especially
: to attract the attention of by a push of the elbow
nudge
noun
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