thrust

English

Etymology

From Middle English þrusten, from Old Norse þrysta, from Proto-Germanic *þrustijaną, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *trewd-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θɹʌst/
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • (Northern England) IPA(key): /θɹʊst/
  • Rhymes: -ʌst

Noun

thrust (countable and uncountable, plural thrusts)

  1. (fencing) An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point.
    Pierre was a master swordsman, and could parry the thrusts of lesser men with barely a thought.
  2. A push, stab, or lunge forward.
    Synonyms: break, dart, grab
    The cutpurse tried to knock her satchel from her hands, but she avoided his thrust and yelled, "Thief!"
    • 1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London:
      Tilehurst […] began to pedal unhurryingly towards the anticipated lane, with the easy thrust of a man who has just made a substantial meal and knows that he has plenty of time and to spare for his appointment.
  4. The force generated by propulsion, as in a jet engine.
    Synonyms: lift, push
    Coordinate term: tractive effort
    Spacecraft are engineering marvels, designed to resist the thrust of liftoff, as well as the reverse pressure of the void.
    • 2026, Xiangxiang Wang, Hualong Xie and Sirui Li, “Effect of pectoral fin locomotion parameters on fish propulsive performance”, in Engineering Research Express‎[1], volume 8, number 7:
      the pectoral fins are capable of generating high thrust during flutter
  5. (figuratively) The primary effort; the goal.
    Synonyms: focus, gist, point
    Ostensibly, the class was about public health in general, but the main thrust was really sex education.
    • 2023 February 11, Toby Helm, “Revealed: secret cross-party summit held to confront failings of Brexit”, in The Observer‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 October 2026:
      “The main thrust of it was that Britain is losing out, that Brexit it not delivering, our economy is in a weak position,” said the source.
    • 2025 January 17, “The Guardian view on musical tastes: beware the algorithm comfort zone”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 October 2026:
      As is normal for biopics, the movie takes liberties with the historical record, but the thrust of the narrative is not disputed.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

thrust (third-person singular simple present thrusts, present participle thrusting, simple past and past participle thrust or thrusted)

  1. (intransitive) To make advance with force.
    Synonyms: attack, charge, rush
    We thrust at the enemy with our forces.
  2. (transitive) To force something upon someone.
    Synonyms: compel, charge, force
    I asked her not to thrust the responsibility on me.
    • 1957, Chiang Chung-cheng (Kai-shek), “Introduction”, in Soviet Russia in China: A Summing-up at Seventy‎[4], New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:
      It is my earnest hope that the bitter lessons China has learned may prove instructive to countries and governments, and especially those in Asia which now face the same threat of Communism. Often it is not easy for most people to realize the presence of this threat in their midst, and by the time they do, it may already be too late to prevent its thrusting them behind the Iron Curtain at least for a time.
  3. (transitive) To push out or extend rapidly or powerfully.
    Synonyms: dart, reach, stab
    He thrust his arm into the icy stream and grabbed a wriggling fish, astounding the observers.
    Towers thrusting skyward.
    • 1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), pages 377–378:
      Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, with […] on one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust from which gnarled and rusty stalks thrust themselves up like withered elfin limbs.
  4. (transitive) To push or drive with force; to shove.
    Synonyms: press, thring, thrutch
    to thrust anything with the hand or foot, or with an instrument
  5. (intransitive) To enter by pushing; to squeeze in.
    Synonyms: break in, force in
    • 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero:
      And thrust between my father and the god.
  6. To stab; to pierce; usually with through.
    Synonyms: jab, run through; see also Thesaurus:stab

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

thrust

  1. alternative form of thirst

Etymology 2

Verb

thrust

  1. (Late Middle English) alternative form of thirsten
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