push-up

American  

[poosh-uhp] / ˈpʊʃˌʌp /

noun

• push-ups
  plural

1. an exercise in which a person, keeping a prone position with the hands palms down under the shoulders, the balls of the feet on the ground, and the back straight, pushes the body up and lets it down by an alternate straightening and bending of the arms.

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adjective

1. (of a brassiere) having padding and usually underwires in the lower part of the cups so as to raise the breasts and make them seem fuller.

2. (of a sleeve) made to be pushed up the arm, away from the wrist or elbow, so as to create a puffed or creased fullness.

push-up British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): press-up.  an exercise in which the body is alternately raised from and lowered to the floor by the arms only, the trunk being kept straight with the toes and hands resting on the floor

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• push-ups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of push-up

First recorded in 1905–10; noun use of verb phrase push up

Compare meaning

How does push-up compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• press-up vs. push-up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

push-up push-ups

Hamilton calls it the soleus push-up because it works the soleus muscle, which runs from just beneath the knee to the heel.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

Back then, I was pretty vain, and we would do this push-up routine before I went onstage so I’d look jacked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025

A western fence lizard performs its push-up display in Griffith Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025

If you’re able to do a push-up, see how many you can do before your form suffers, then immediately stop.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

And she’ll always think back to the time when she taught him to do a proper push-up.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

Bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics, uses your own body weight for exercises such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups to help build strength.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Researchers note that free weights, dumbbells, weight machines, and bodyweight exercises such as modified push-ups, wall presses, and knee bends can all help improve strength.

From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026

No big deal: some pull-ups, some push-ups, a few squats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

“If you can’t do a hundred push-ups or a hundred squats, you’re in for a bad day,” Hyrox champ McIntyre said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

Using muscles I’d honed through hundreds of push-ups and pull-ups, I heaved myself upward toward safety.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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