Elbow definition
To make one's way by pushing with the elbow.
verb
To push, jostle, or shove with the elbow.
Elbowed me in the ribs to get me to stop laughing.
verb
To turn at an angle; bend.
The lane elbows to the left.
verb
The part of a sleeve covering the elbow.
noun
The definition of an elbow is the joint that bends between the top and bottom parts of the arm, or anything bend in a 45° or 90° angle.
An example of an elbow is the part of the arm that bends when swinging a tennis racket.
noun
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Something having a bend or angle similar to an elbow, especially:
- A length of pipe with a sharp bend in it.
- A sharp bend in a river or road.
noun
The joint or bend of the arm between the forearm and the upper arm.
noun
The bony outer projection of this joint.
noun
To open up (a means of passage, for example) by or as if by use of the elbow.
Elbowed her way through the crowd.
verb
Anything bent like an elbow, as a fitting for joining plumbing pipes at a 45° or 90° angle.
noun
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The joint between the upper and lower arm; esp., the outer part of the angle made by a bent arm.
noun
The joint corresponding to this in the forelimb of quadrupeds.
noun
To shove or jostle with or as with elbows.
verb
To push (one's way) with the elbows or rudely.
verb
To make one's way by shoving or jostling.
verb
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To form an angle.
verb
A joint, as of a bird or quadruped, corresponding to the human elbow.
noun
The joint or bend of the arm between the forearm and the upper arm.
noun
The bony outer projection of this joint.
noun
Any turn or bend like that of the elbow, in a wall, building, coastline, etc.; an angular or jointed part of any structure, such as the raised arm of a chair or sofa, or a short pipe fitting, turning at an angle or bent.
The sides of windows, where the jamb makes an elbow with the window back.
noun
(basketball) Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane.
noun
A joint, as of a bird or quadruped, corresponding to the human elbow.
noun
at (one's) elbow
- Close at hand; nearby.
idiom
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out at the elbows
- Poorly dressed.
- Lacking money.
idiom
at someone's elbow
- very close to someone; easy to reach
idiom
out at (the) elbows
- shabby; poverty-stricken
idiom
up to the elbows
- deeply engaged (in work, etc.)
idiom
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of elbow
- Middle English elbowe from Old English elnboga el- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English elbowe, from Old English elboga, elnboga (“elbow”), from Proto-Germanic *alinabugô (“elbow”), equivalent to ell + bow. Cognate with Scots elbuck (“elbow”), Saterland Frisian Älbooge (“elbow”), Dutch elleboog (“elbow”), Low German Ellebage (“elbow”), German Ellbogen, Ellenbogen (“elbow”), Danish albue (“elbow”), Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”).
From Wiktionary