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

He developed a sitting exercise called the soleus push-up External link.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

But what's the key to the perfect push-up, according to Bill?

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 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

He didn’t gloat when coaches dutifully dropped to the court to pay the push-up price.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025

We put our hands down and got into push-up position.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Examples include chair squats, heel drops, and wall push-ups.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 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

She said instructions to carry out exercises like push-ups "might start at a thousand repetitions".

From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025

I’m sure he can do push-ups, as he constantly brags.

From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025

Coach P. has us jumping rope and doing sprints, push-ups, and basketball drills.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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