elbow

[ el-boh ]
See synonyms for elbow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.

  2. the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped.

  1. something bent like an elbow, as a sharp turn in a road or river, or a piece of pipe bent at an angle.

  2. Architecture. crossette.

  3. Also called ell, el . a plumbing pipe or pipe connection having a right-angled bend.

verb (used with object)
  1. to push with or as if with the elbow; jostle.

  2. to make (one's way) by so pushing.

verb (used without object)
  1. to elbow one's way: He elbowed through the crowd.

Idioms about elbow

  1. at one's elbow, within easy reach; nearby: A virtue of the cottage is that the ocean is at your elbow.

  2. bend / lift / crook an elbow, Informal. to drink alcoholic beverages.

  1. give the elbow, shove aside, get rid of, or reject.

  2. out at the elbows, : Also out at elbows.

    • poorly dressed; shabby.

    • impoverished.

  3. rub elbows with, to mingle socially with; associate with: a resort where royalty rubs elbows with the merely rich.

  4. up to one's elbows, very busy; engrossed: I am up to my elbows in answering mail.: Also up to the elbows.

Origin of elbow

1
before 1000; Middle English elbowe,Old English el(n)boga; cognate with Middle Dutch elle(n)bōghe,Old High German el(l)inbogo (German Ellenbogen), Old Norse ǫl(n)bogi; literally, “forearm-bend.” See ell2, bow1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use elbow in a sentence

  • When he bent his elbows the sleeves flew up his arms, and these wristers became the most conspicuous thing in his whole attire.

  • Squaring his elbows on the table, he begun abruptly; and appeared to have a habit of cutting short his words and sentences.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • Mrs. Gum dusted a large old-fashioned oak chair with her apron; but he perched himself on one of its elbows.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • Every movement rigidly prescribed, arms held rigid and sharply bent at the elbows.

    The Man from Time | Frank Belknap Long
  • "Of course," declared the other, leaning both elbows upon the table before him and looking straight into the novelist's pale face.

    The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for elbow

elbow

/ (ˈɛlbəʊ) /


noun
  1. the joint between the upper arm and the forearm, formed by the junction of the radius and ulna with the humerus

  2. the corresponding joint or bone of birds or mammals

  1. the part of a garment that covers the elbow

  2. something resembling an elbow, such as a sharp bend in a road or river

  3. at one's elbow within easy reach

  4. out at elbow or out at elbows ragged or impoverished

  5. up to the elbows with or up to the elbows in busily occupied with; deeply immersed in

verb
  1. (tr) to reject; dismiss. Also: give the elbow

  2. to make (one's way) by shoving, jostling, etc

  1. (tr) to knock or shove with or as if with the elbow

Origin of elbow

1
Old English elnboga; see ell ², bow ²; related to Old Norse olbogi, Old High German elinbogo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with elbow

elbow

In addition to the idioms beginning with elbow

  • elbow grease
  • elbow room

also see:

  • at someone's elbow
  • crook one's elbow
  • out at the elbows
  • rub elbows with

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.