Meaning & use
pushing someone down
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Meanings
verbtransitive
Using your hands or body to force someone to the ground or to a lower position.
Grammar: Takes an object: push someone down. The object goes between 'push' and 'down'.
Patterns
- push someone down
- push someone down to something
The bully was pushing the smaller boy down onto the playground floor.
She pushed him down the stairs in a moment of anger.
He was pushed down by the crowd and hurt his knee.
verbtransitive
To press something so that it moves to a lower level or position.
Grammar: Takes an object: push something down. Often used with things like a lid, a button, or a lever.
Patterns
- push something down
- push down on something
Push the lid down firmly to close the box.
He pushed the lever down and the machine started.
She pushed the button down and waited for the elevator.
Common combinations
- push someone down the stairs
- He lost his balance and pushed her down the stairs.
- push someone down to the ground
- The attacker pushed him down to the ground.
- push down on something
- Push down on the pedal to stop the car.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shove
- Shove means to push someone or something roughly and quickly; it often suggests a stronger, more sudden force than push.
- knock down
- Knock down means to hit someone so they fall to the ground; it usually involves a hit rather than continuous pushing.
Opposites
Word family
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
In phrasal verbs like 'push down', the object pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: 'push him down'. Option An is wrong because the pronoun cannot come after 'down'. Option C uses the subject pronoun 'he' instead of the object pronoun 'him'. Option D is not a correct verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pushing someone down”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.