I. ˈthrəst verb
( thrust ; thrust ; thrusting ; thrusts )
Etymology: Middle English thrusten, thristen, from Old Norse thrȳsta to thrust, press; probably akin to Old Norse thrjōta to fail, lack — more at threat
transitive verb
1.
a. : to push or drive with physical force : exert force upon or against so as to move in a desired direction : drive , force , impel , shove
thrust his hand into his pocket
thrust the chair forward
thrust me suddenly from her — Kenneth Roberts
a hen having medicine thrust down its throat — Andrew Buchanan
b. : to push, drive, or impel as if with physical force
he thrust aside all precautionary advice
poetry thrusts the great passions of men before us — C.S.Kilby
into his churning mind … one single idea thrust itself — Walter O'Meara
2. : to cause to enter, piece, or penetrate something or some place by or as if by pushing
thrust a dagger into her heart
3. : to push forth into some place : extend in some direction : throw out in or as if in the process of growth : spread
a poplar thrusts its rootlets far and wide
mountains which thrust an arm eastward into the Great Plains — R.A.Billington
prosperous cities had … thrust out suburbs — G.M.Trevelyan
4. archaic : to stab or pierce with a pointed weapon
5.
a. : to put (as a person who is unwilling) forcibly into some course of action or position
he was thrust into the leadership — Irish Digest
thrust into an atmosphere of superinduced excitement — R.M.Weaver
b. : to introduce often improperly or irrelevantly into some position : interpolate
6.
a. : to intrude (as a person) into a position or upon one or more other persons : interpose
b. : to press, force, or impose the acceptance of (something) upon someone
thrust new responsibilities upon him
some have greatness thrust upon 'em — Shakespeare
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to push in : force an entrance or passage
b.
(1) : to push forward : press onward or into a place
railroads began to thrust into the buffalo country — C.C.Rister
the determination of the United Nations forces … to thrust beyond the 38th parallel — Current Biography
with a whoop … the Indian thrust ashore — McClure's
(2) : to ride forward of the field in hunting : ride too close to the hounds
c. : to push upward
a rock said to thrust 200 feet above the water
2. : to make a thrust, stab, or lunge with or as if with a pointed weapon
thrust at her with a knife
Synonyms: see push
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
1. obsolete : a crowd of people : press , throng
2.
a.
(1) : an action of forcibly moving a pointed weapon (as a sword or dagger) in the direction of its length and usually toward an objective : lunge
(2) : the result of such an action : a stab made with a pointed weapon or an instrument of any kind
a bayonet thrust in the … abdomen — Raymond Boyle
b. : an action held to resemble such a movement: as
(1) : a verbal attack of greater or lesser intensity
enliven their editorials with barbed thrusts at their neighbors — American Guide Series: Minnesota
hilarious … thrusts at our sentimentality — John Mason Brown
(2) : an attack or assault by military forces
the enemy made a thrust deep into our position
withstanding a sudden thrust by … 100 to 150 divisions — Patrick McMahon
3. : a pushing or driving force: as
a. : a force causing breakdown of a mine-gallery roof under its superincumbent weight
b. : the sideways force or pressure of one part of a structure against another part ; especially : a horizontal or diagonal outward pressure (as of an arch against an abutment or any member of the upper chord of a truss against its terminal joints)
c.
(1) : the force that is exerted endwise through a propeller shaft (as of a ship or airplane) due to reaction of the water or air on the revolving blades or vanes of the propeller and that serves to drive the craft ahead
(2) : the forwardly directed reaction force produced by a high-speed jet of fluid discharged rearwards from a nozzle or orifice (as in a jet airplane or a rocket) — called also jet thrust
d. : a compressive tangential stress in the earth's crust or the effect of such stress : thrust fault
4.
a. : the action of pushing, driving, or otherwise moving something by the exertion of physical force
the glide of birch canoes and the thrust of … paddles — American Guide Series: Vermont
b. : an instance of such movement by the exertion of force
5.
a.
(1) : an action of pushing forward into some place or in some direction
helps him in his thrust for higher office — Saturday Review
forward thrusts in history have not always been the product of universal assent — Saturday Review
(2) : a movement (as by a group of people) in a usually specified direction
the most westerly thrust of the English toward the Dutch settlement — American Guide Series: Connecticut
b. : an instance of pushing upward
the upward thrust of the … skyscrapers — American Guide Series: New York City
c. : a quality marked by usually forceful movement forward or upward
Japanese walkers are silent, less full of thrust — Santha Rama Rau
his performance has a thrust … that none of the other violinists brings to the music — H.C.Schonberg
d. : something (as a projection) that is thrust out or up
thrusts … extrude at almost every section of the frontiers — Herbert Feis
the most easterly thrust of the mountain range
6. : a percussive movement of striking or shoving in modern dance
Synonyms: see stress
III. noun
1. : salient or essential element or meaning
2. : principal concern or objective