elbow — OET · Shobdo

elbow

noun

1 leaning on one's elbow:

arm joint, bend of the arm.

2 you need to fit a 15mm elbow to the end of the pipe:

bend, joint, curve, corner, (right) angle, crook;

technical flexure.

□ elbow greaseinformal

homemade cleaners may require more elbow grease than commercial spray-and-wipe products:

hard work, work, labour, toil, exertion, effort, slog, drudgery;

industry;

informal grind, sweat, donkey work, spadework;

British, informal graft, fag;

Australian, New Zealand, informal yakka;

archaic travail, moil.

□ give someone the elbowBritish, informal

200 staff have been given the elbow today:

dismiss, axe, give someone notice, throw out, get rid of, lay off, let go, discharge;

British make redundant;

informal sack, fire, kick out, boot out, give someone the sack, give someone the boot, give someone the bullet, give someone the (old) heave-ho, give someone the push, give someone their marching orders, show someone the door;

British, informal give someone their cards.

verb

she elbowed him out of the way |

he elbowed his way through the crowd:

push (one's way), shove (one's way), force (one's way), shoulder (one's way), jostle (one's way), nudge, muscle, bulldoze, bludgeon one's way.

elbow Oxford Dictionary of English