elbow

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elbow

/ˈɛlbəʊ̯/ UK
[ˈæ̝wbɐw]
/ˈɛlboʊ̯/ US
[ˈɛɫboʊ̯] US
/ˈe̞lbəʉ̯/ Australia
[ˈe̞ɫbəʉ] Australia
/ˈæ̝lbəʊ̯/
/ˈe̞ʊ̯bəʉ̯/

Rhymes with -ɛlbəʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English elbowe (“elbow”), 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 and Norwegian Bokmål albue (“elbow”), Norwegian Nynorsk olboge (“elbow”), Faroese albogi, Icelandic olbogi, olnbogi (“elbow”), Swedish armbåge (“elbow”).

noun elbows

The joint between the upper arm and the forearm. Up to the elbowes naked were there Armes.
Similar: elbow joint
broadly 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
US, dated A detective. "An elbow, huh?" putting all the contempt he could in his voice; and somehow any synonym for detective seems able to hold a lot of contempt.
Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane.
A hit, strike, or blow with the elbow. In the fair dinkum department that elbow prop Barrie McDermott threw into the face of Paul Sironen deserved to get him four months on the side-lines[.]
Two nearby crossings of a rope.

verb elbows · elbowing · elbowed

transitive To push with the elbow or elbows; to forge ahead using the elbows to assist. He elbowed his way through the crowd.
To strike with the elbow. Trumper elbowed me in the ribs and made a sign with his head. He seemed irritated now by our delay.
To nudge, jostle or push. Suddenly and with all her heart Kate longed to be home, back at the homestead, to participate in the rambunctious toss and jostle as breakup elbowed its way into the Park.
informal, with "out" or "aside" To force (someone) to quit or lose their job so that someone else can be hired. The president was elbowed out of power by members of her own party.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: elbow joint, cubitus, articulatio cubiti, cubital joint, neck, arm, hand, shoulder, toe, prod, bottle, bend, bracket, ancon, nudge, jostle

Translations

Every language

noun joint between upper arm and forearm

Español	codo
한국어	팔꿈치 palkkumchi
日本語	肘 hiji
中文	肘 zhǒu, 肘部 zhǒubù, 胳膊肘兒 /胳膊肘儿 gēbozhǒur, 胳膊肘子 gēbozhǒuzi, 手肘 shǒuzhǒu
हिन्दी	कुहनी kuhnī, कोहनी kohnī
Kiswahili	kisugudi, kiwiko
Português	cotovelo
Français	coude
Deutsch	Ellbogen
Italiano	gomito
Ελληνικά	αγκώνας agkónas, ωλένη oléni
Română	cot
Русский	ло́коть lókotʹ
Tiếng Việt	khuỷu tay
العربية	كُوع kūʕ, مِرْفَق mirfaq
עברית	מַרְפֵּק marpek

noun pipe fitting

Español	codo
中文	彎頭 /弯头 wāntóu
Kiswahili	kisigino
Português	cotovelo
Français	coude
Deutsch	Rohrbogen
Italiano	raccordo
Română	cot
Русский	коле́но koléno
العربية	كُوع kūʕ

noun a hit with the elbow

Español	codazo
Português	cotovelada, cotovelão
Français	coup de coude
Deutsch	Ellbogenstoß
Italiano	gomitata
Română	lovitură de cot

verb to push with the elbow

中文	用肘推 yòng zhǒu tuī
Kiswahili	kisigino
Português	cotovelar, acotovelar
Français	jouer des coudes
Deutsch	but see mit dem Ellbogen stoßen
Italiano	sgomitare

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Cite this

MLA

"elbow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/elbow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

elbow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/elbow

Chicago

"elbow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/elbow.

BibTeX

@misc{elbow_2026,
  title = {elbow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/elbow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}