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Elbow   /ˈɛlbˌoʊ/   Listen
noun
Elbow  n.  
1.
The joint or bend of the arm; the outer curve in the middle of the arm when bent. "Her arms to the elbows naked."
2.
Any turn or bend like that of the elbow, in a wall, building, and the like; a sudden turn in a line of coast or course of a river; also, an angular or jointed part of any structure, as the raised arm of a chair or sofa, or a short pipe fitting, turning at an angle or bent.
3.
(Arch.) A sharp angle in any surface of wainscoting or other woodwork; the upright sides which flank any paneled work, as the sides of windows, where the jamb makes an elbow with the window back. Note: Elbow is used adjectively or as part of a compound, to denote something shaped like, or acting like, an elbow; as, elbow joint; elbow tongs or elbow-tongs; elbowroom, elbow-room, or elbow room.
At the elbow, very near; at hand.
Elbow grease, energetic application of force in manual labor. (Low)
Elbow in the hawse (Naut.), the twisting together of two cables by which a vessel rides at anchor, caused by swinging completely round once.
Elbow scissors (Surg.), scissors bent in the blade or shank for convenience in cutting.
Out at elbow, with coat worn through at the elbows; shabby; in needy circumstances.



verb
Elbow  v. t.  (past & past part. elbowed; pres. part. elbowing)  To push or hit with the elbow, as when one pushes by another. "They (the Dutch) would elbow our own aldermen off the Royal Exchange."
To elbow one's way, to force one's way by pushing with the elbows; as, to elbow one's way through a crowd.



Elbow  v. i.  
1.
To jut into an angle; to project or to bend after the manner of an elbow.
2.
To push rudely along; to elbow one's way. "Purseproud, elbowing Insolence."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Elbow" Quotes from Famous Books



... you, daughter," he said in a voice of yearning tenderness, for whenever his children were in trouble, it always seemed to him that his fair young wife stood at his elbow inciting him to gentleness. "I don't understand, but I must. Why should two heady young fools quarrel over my little girl? She is no ...
— All Aboard - A Story for Girls • Fannie E. Newberry

... lingers, though averse to square With the new city street it has to wear A number in. But what about the brook That held the house as in an elbow-crook? I ask as one who knew the brook, its strength And impulse, having dipped a finger-length And made it leap my knuckle, having tossed A flower to try its currents where they crossed. The meadow grass could be cemented down From growing under pavements of a town; The ...
— American Poetry, 1922 - A Miscellany • Edna St. Vincent Millay

... everything that was strong and manly. A little more patience, and then it would be spring, and the sunshine would make him well. She put the hair away from his forehead, and told him how fair in the face he was grown; and then she shoved his sleeve to his elbow, and told him that his arms were almost as plump as they ever were; and so he was comforted, cheered even, and they talked over the plans and prospects of years to come. At last he fell asleep with a bright smile of hope in his face, and Jenny stooped softly and kissed him, and, stealing ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 106, August, 1866 • Various

... still in the main, We've no right to complain, For if we prepare for him, And show that we care for him, We may in him find A true friend and kind. With us he will stay Three months to a day, So let us prepare The snug elbow chair, Which placed by the fire For the hoary-head sire, May comfort impart And cheer his old heart. Though he seems so unkind, Yet always you'll find That his cold heart will warm, And he'll do you no harm If your own can but feel For your poor neighbor's ...
— The Kings and Queens of England with Other Poems • Mary Ann H. T. Bigelow

... it true that the mocker grew less musical as the place grew wilder. By instinct he is a public performer, he demands an audience; and it is only in cities, like St. Augustine and Tallahassee, that he is heard at his freest and best. A loggerhead shrike—now close at my elbow, now farther away—was practicing his extensive vocabulary with perseverance, if not with enthusiasm. Like his relative the "great northern," though perhaps in a less degree, the loggerhead is commonly at an extreme, either ...
— A Florida Sketch-Book • Bradford Torrey


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