thrust

American  

[thruhst] / θrʌst /

verb (used with object)

thrusts, present (3rd person singular) thrust, past participle, past thrusting present participle

1. to push forcibly; shove; put or drive with force.

   He thrust his way through the crowd. She thrust a dagger into his back.

2. to put boldly forth or impose acceptance of.

   to thrust oneself into a conversation between others; to thrust a dollar into the waiter's hand.

3. to extend; present.

   He thrust his fist in front of my face.

4. Archaic. to stab or pierce, as with a sword.

   She thrust his back with a dagger.

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verb (used without object)

thrusts, present (3rd person singular) thrust, past participle, past thrusting present participle

1. to push against something.

2. to push or force one's way, as against obstacles or through a crowd.

3. to make a thrust, lunge, or stab at something.

noun

thrusts plural

1. an act or instance of thrusting; a forcible push or shove; lunge or stab.

2. a lunge or stab, as with a sword.

3. Mechanics. a linear reactive force exerted by a propeller, propulsive gases, etc., to propel a ship, aircraft, etc.

4. Geology. a compressive strain in the crust of the earth that, in its most characteristic development, produces reverse or thrust faults.

5. the main point, purpose, or essence.

   The thrust of his speech was an urgent appeal for votes.

6. Machinery. a pushing force or pressure exerted by a thing or a part against a contiguous one.

7. Architecture. the downward and outward force exerted by an arch on each side.

8. an organized military attack; assault; offensive.

thrust British  

/ θrʌst /

verb

1. (tr) to push (someone or something) with force or sudden strength

   she thrust him away

   she thrust it into the fire

2. (tr) to force or impose upon (someone) or into (some condition or situation)

   they thrust extra responsibilities upon her

   she was thrust into the limelight

3. to pierce; stab

4. (intr; usually foll by through or into) to force a passage or entrance

5. (intr) to push forwards, upwards, or outwards

6. to make a stab or lunge at (a person or thing)

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noun

1. a forceful drive, push, stab, or lunge

2. a force, esp one that produces motion

3. 1. a propulsive force produced by the fluid pressure or the change of momentum of the fluid in a jet engine, rocket engine, etc

   2. a similar force produced by a propeller

4. a pressure that is exerted continuously by one part of an object, structure, etc, against another, esp the axial force by or on a shaft

5. geology

   1. the compressive force in the earth's crust that produces recumbent folds and thrust or reverse faults

   2. See thrust fault

6. civil engineering a force exerted in a downwards and outwards direction, as by an arch or rafter, or the horizontal force exerted by retained earth

7. force, impetus, or drive

   a man with thrust and energy

8. the essential or most forceful part

   the thrust of the argument

thrust Scientific  

/ thrŭst /

1. The force that propels an object in a given direction, especially when generated by the object itself, as by an engine or rocket.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterthrust
  noun
• prethrust
  noun
• unthrust
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thrusts
  plural

Participles

• thrusting
  present
• thrust
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• thrust
  simple
• thrusts
  simple
• have thrust
  perfect
• has thrust
  perfect
• am thrusting
  progressive
• are thrusting
  progressive
• is thrusting
  progressive
• have been thrusting
  perfect progressive
• has been thrusting
  perfect progressive

Past

• thrust
  simple
• had thrust
  perfect
• was thrusting
  progressive
• were thrusting
  progressive
• had been thrusting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will thrust
  simple
• will have thrust
  perfect
• will be thrusting
  progressive
• will have been thrusting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of thrust

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English thrusten, thrysten (verb), from Old Norse thrȳsta “to force, press”

Explanation

To thrust is to push forward quickly and forcibly, like the way a pirate would plunge or thrust a sword into his enemy. Thrust is often used when you're talking about knives or swords or jabbing someone with something. In fact, a thrust refers to a sharp blow or stab. Violence aside, thrust can be any kind of forceful push or driving force. Aggressive street vendors thrust their wares on you and young movie stars are thrust into the limelight at an early age — which may be disconcerting, but certainly is not as frightening a knife thrust in your direction.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thrust thrusts thrusting

Powell said he was going to “keep his head down” as a governor, and this would thrust him into the spotlight.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

Netball is one of the Commonwealth Games' great sports, and Glasgow 2026 will thrust it into the spotlight again: sinew-stretching athleticism, pinpoint shooting, frantic end-to-end pace.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

It bothered Lacy, a serious artist who wrote with Kendrick Lamar and earned a Grammy nomination as a teenager in the R&B collective The Internet, suddenly thrust into living meme territory with “Bad Habit.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

As an ordinary man thrust into a world of monsters and maniacs, Neill is inherently playing with ideas about art and celebrity that reflect his own career.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

Camilla thrust it into the sash at her waist.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

It’s why Carson Zone is at the gym every Monday and Friday, grunting into weighted hip thrusts and pushing through heavy staggered lunges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

But this is made complex by his vast cast of characters whose minds he often thrusts in and out of — sometimes even between individual sentences or paragraphs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

Their overlapping limbs, seen from different angles, form a syncopated band of unexpected shapes that thrusts Christ’s much larger, confrontational torso toward us, emphasizing his otherworldliness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

New Zealand were troubled by South Africa's ultra-physical approach in the first half of their quarter-final, with the Springboks making metres with 15-player driving mauls and forward thrusts around the fringes.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

On Monday, James Russell was counting my squat thrusts for the Presidential Physical Fitness chart when he said, “I hear you’ve been drawing birds at the library.”

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

That milestone was also recently hit by Samsung Electronics and US chipmaker Micron -- with AI thrusting the three memory chip firms into a previously exclusive club of around a dozen companies, nearly all American.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

That only lasts for one season before the nonprofit shuts down, thrusting both into the big, bad world.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026

Such hunting was an extremely risky business: The pelvic wound suggests that the hunter may have been directly beneath his prey, thrusting upward.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

But it’s also thrusting a decades-old accounting debate back into the spotlight.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026

You get cleaned up,” Linda says, scooping up the laddoo and thrusting a box of tissues at me.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• dig
• elbow
• heave
• interject
• jab
• lob
• lunge
• nudge
• plunge
• poke
• propel
• punch
• shove
• sink
• sling
• smack
• stab
• stick