transitive verb thrust, thrusting thrust′·ing

1. to push with sudden force; shove; drive
2. to pierce; stab
3. to force or impose (oneself or another) upon someone else or into some position or situation
4. to interject or interpose (a remark, question, etc.)
5. to extend, as in growth the tree thrusts its branches high

Etymology: ME thrusten, thristen < ON thrysta < IE *treud-, to squeeze, push > threat, L trudere

intransitive verb

1. to push or shove against something
2. to make a thrust, stab, or lunge, as with a sword
3. to force one's way (into, through, etc.)
4. to extend, as in growth

noun

1. the act of thrusting; specif.,
   1. a sudden, forceful push or shove
   2. a lunge or stab, as with a sword
   3. any sudden attack
2. continuous pressure of one part against another, as of a rafter against a wall
3. 1. the driving force of a propeller in the line of its shaft
   2. the forward force produced in reaction to the gases escaping rearward from a jet or rocket engine
4. 1. forward movement; impetus the thrust of machine technology
   2. energy; drive
5. ☆ the basic meaning or purpose; point; force the thrust of a speech
6. Geol. an almost horizontal fault in which the hanging wall seems to have been pushed upward in relation to the footwall
   in full thrust fault