jostle
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jostle
- /ˈd͡ʒɒs.əl/ UK
- /ˈd͡ʒɑ.səl/ US
Rhymes with -ɒsəl
Where it comes from
Originally justle (“to have sex with”), formed from Middle English jousten, from the Old French joster (“to joust”), from Latin iuxtā (“next to”), from iungō (“join, connect”), equivalent to joust + -le.
verb jostles · jostling · jostled
-
To bump into or brush against while in motion; to push aside.
Besides, various are the paths to power and fame which by accident or choice men pursue, and though they jostle against each other, for men of the same profession are seldom friends, yet there is a much greater number of their fellow-creatures with whom they never clash. But women are very different
Similar: hustle
- To move through by pushing and shoving. Axia and Amory, acquaintances of an hour, jostled behind a waiter to a table at a point of vantage; there they took seats and watched.
- To be close to or in physical contact with. […] the advantages of diversification of structure, with the accompanying differences of habit and constitution, determine that the inhabitants, which thus jostle each other most closely, shall, as a general rule, belong to what we call different genera and orders.
- To contend or vie in order to acquire something. Dick, who, in serious earnest, was supposed to have considerable natural talents for his profession, and whose vain and sanguine disposition never permitted him to doubt for a moment of ultimate success, threw himself headlong into the crowd which jostled and struggled for notice and preferment.
- To pick or attempt to pick pockets.
noun jostles
- The act of jostling someone or something; push, shove. 1722, Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, London: J. Cooke, 1765, p. 241, I had full hold of her Watch, but giving a great Jostle, as if somebody had thrust me against her, and in the Juncture giving the Watch a fair pull, I found it would not come, so I let it go that Moment, and cried out as if I had bee
- The action of a jostling crowd. 1865, Harriet Beecher Stowe (under the pseudonym Christopher Crowfield), The Chimney-Corner, Boston: Ticknor & Field, 1868, Chapter 12, p. 291, For years to come, the average of lone women will be largely increased; and the demand, always great, for some means by which they many provide for themselv
Translations
Every language
verb bump into or brush against while in motion
| 日本語 | 押し合う oshiau |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 擠 /挤 jǐ, 推搡 tuīsǎng |
| Português | esbarrar |
| Français | bousculer |
| Deutsch | drängeln |
| Русский | пиха́ться pixátʹsja, толка́ться tolkátʹsja |
| Tiếng Việt | chen |
verb move through by pushing and shoving
| Español | codear, empujar |
|---|---|
| Français | se bousculer |
| Deutsch | drängeln |
| Italiano | spingere, farsi largo |
| Русский | пропи́хиваться propíxivatʹsja, прота́лкиваться protálkivatʹsja |
noun act of jostling
| Français | bousculade |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Drängelei, Gedrängel |
Talk about this word "jostle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jostle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. jostle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jostle "jostle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jostle.Cite this
@misc{jostle_2026,
title = {jostle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jostle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
