elbow

American  

[el-boh] / ˈɛl boʊ /

noun

elbows plural

1. the bend or joint of the human arm between upper arm and forearm.

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

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

4. Architecture. crossette.

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

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verb (used with object)

elbows, present (3rd person singular) elbowed, past participle, past elbowing present participle

1. to push with or as if with the elbow; jostle.

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

verb (used without object)

elbows, present (3rd person singular) elbowed, past participle, past elbowing present participle

1. to elbow one's way.

   He elbowed through the crowd.

idioms

1. at one's elbow, within easy reach; nearby.

   A virtue of the cottage is that the ocean is at your elbow.

2. rub elbows with, to mingle socially with; associate with.

   a resort where royalty rubs elbows with the merely rich.

3. out at the elbows, Also out at elbows.

   1. poorly dressed; shabby.

   2. impoverished.

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

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

6. up to one's elbows, very busy; engrossed: Also up to the elbows.

   I am up to my elbows in answering mail.

elbow British  

/ 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

3. the part of a garment that covers the elbow

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

5. within easy reach

6. ragged or impoverished

7. busily occupied with; deeply immersed in

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verb

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

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

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

elbow More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing elbow

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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• elbows
  plural

Participles

• elbowing
  present
• elbowed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• elbow
  simple
• elbows
  simple
• have elbowed
  perfect
• has elbowed
  perfect
• am elbowing
  progressive
• are elbowing
  progressive
• is elbowing
  progressive
• have been elbowing
  perfect progressive
• has been elbowing
  perfect progressive

Past

• elbowed
  simple
• had elbowed
  perfect
• was elbowing
  progressive
• were elbowing
  progressive
• had been elbowing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will elbow
  simple
• will have elbowed
  perfect
• will be elbowing
  progressive
• will have been elbowing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of elbow

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 ell ², bow ¹

Explanation

Your elbow is the bendy part of your arm between your wrist and your shoulder. Sometimes people use their pointy elbows to elbow people out of the way. Your elbows are major joints in your arms, making it possible for you to do many things — including get scolded for having your elbows rudely on the table while you eat. Clothing can be said to have elbows as well: "I like your professor jacket with the patches on the elbows." Other inanimate objects with elbows include rivers and pipes: a sharp bend in either of these is also called an elbow.

Example Sentences

Elbow ligament reconstruction, the revolutionary procedure named for former All-Star Tommy John, has practically become a rite of passage for young pitchers.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Brian Hooker told police that he and his wife left Hope Town for Elbow Cay, in the Abaco Islands, on Saturday evening when she fell overboard, taking the boat's keys with her.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Elbow injuries have plagued generations of pitchers, and damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in the pitching elbow used to be a career-stopper.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2024

Song and his team have filed a patent on his invention, called "Detecting Elbow Erosion by Percussion Method with Machine Learning."

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2023

They roared northwest through the bend at Krum Elbow and continued another two miles alongside forest and cliff until they came to a dock marked “Hyde Park Station.”

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• bulldoze
• bump
• hook
• hustle
• knock
• nudge
• shove