▪ I. thrust, n.
(θrʌst)
Also 6– Sc. and north. dial. thrist.
[f. thrust v., in various senses.]
I. † 1. An act of pressing or pressure (see sense 4 of the verb); chiefly fig. ‘pinch’, hardship. Obs.
In phr. heap and thrust, app. used attrib. = heaped up and pressed down; cf. thrutch n., quot. 1678.
| 1513 Douglas æneis vi. ii. 33 Withdraw the from na perrellis, nor hard thrist. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 548 Tak tent in tyme or ȝe be put in thrist. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxiv. 76 Sen thou art thrald, think thou mon thole a thrist. 1670 Capt. J. Smith Eng. Improv. Reviv'd 91, 16000 Bushels of Chaff or Hulls worth 3 pence the Bushel heap and thrust. |
† 2. Pressure or pushing of a crowd, jostling, crowding; a crowd, throng, ‘press’.
Obs.| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Arceo, Arctum theatrum..wherin is great thronge or thrust. 1588 Parke tr. Mendoza's Hist. China 295 They were verie faint with the great thrust and throng of the people. 1600 Fairfax Tasso xx. xvii, What can he do..In that confusion, trouble, thrust and throng? 1615 Chapman Odyss. iii. 52 In thrust did all men draw About their entry. 1620 Shelton Quix. (1746) IV. xx. 164 Two of them, bold Crack-ropes, came among the Thrust. |
3. Mech., etc.
a. A pushing force exerted by one part of a structure, etc. upon another contiguous part:
spec. (
a)
Arch., etc. Such a force exerted laterally by an arch or other part of a building or structure against an abutment or support; (
b) the driving force exerted by a paddle or propeller-shaft in a ship or aeroplane; (
c)
Mining: see
quot. 1881; (
d)
Geol. a compressive strain in the earth's crust; (
e) the propulsive force developed by a jet or rocket engine.
| 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 30 [Lest it] bring a Thrust, or a general Crush in one of your Collieries. 1739 C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Br. 44 The lower an Arch is, in proportion to its Opening, the greater is the Thrust it exerts against its Piers. 1853 Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges (ed. 3) 326 In..truss-frame bridges..there is no thrust or pressure against the abutments, as in arched bridges. 1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuild. i. 8 Intended to aid in distributing the thrust of the paddleshaft. 1870 4th Ann. Rep. Aëronaut. Soc. 1869 9 The thrust of aërial screw propellers. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Thrust, the breaking down or the slow descent of the roof of a gangway. Compare Creep. 1903 Nature 12 Feb. 359/1 Local thrusts and shear slips took place again, fragmenting the previous thrust-masses and igneous intrusions. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 18 Mar. 4/1 The result of revolving a screw in water or air is to project a current..in a direction approximately parallel to the axis of the screw, and the reaction from this in the opposite direction to which the current is flowing is called the ‘thrust’, and the aim of every designer is to obtain the greatest possible thrust from any given dimensions of propeller when working at its designed speed. 1933 Aircraft Engin. Jan. 22/2 This series of tests were undertaken to determine how much the reaction thrust of a jet could be increased by the use of thrust augmentors. 1950 Sci. News XV. 72 Since news of Whittle's jet engine was released there has been a popular misconception that if there is no atmosphere for the exhaust gases to push against there will be no thrust. 1977 R.A.F. Yearbk. 31/1 Recovery..involves unstalling the wing and re-establishing lift rather than blasting the aircraft out with thrust. 1982 Daily Tel. 14 Jan. 16/5 The engine was a Russian-built Nene of higher thrust (6,000 lb) than the original models. 1983 D. Stinton Design of Aeroplane vii. 297 A propeller consists of a number of wing-like aerofoils designed to convert torque into thrust. |
b. Short for
thrust-bearing: see 8.
| 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. (ed. 2) 211 Have every..part of the engines carefully oiled, especially cylinders, slide-valves, eccentrics, cranks, and thrust. |
4. = thrustings,
thrusting vbl. n. 2.
| 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Thrust,..the white whey which last leaves the curd in pressing. |
II. 5. An act, or the action, of thrusting (in sense 1 of the
vb.); a forcible push or pushing. Also
fig.| 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxii, ‘Take away the carrion’ (giving the bishop's corpse a thrust with his foot). 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 26 The thrust of the descending glacier. 1866 J. Martineau Ess. I. 151 A logical thrust of the ostrich-head into the sand. |
6. a. An act of thrusting (in sense 5 of the
vb.); a lunge or stab made with a weapon.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 153 b, Zelmane harkening to no more wordes, began with such wittie furie to pursue him with blowes and thrustes. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 120 While we were enterchanging thrusts and blowes. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 203 Garments of cotten wooll so close and hard quilted that they woulde beare out the thrust of a lance or sword. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 127 They were taught to bend the Bow, shoot exact, give a true thrust with a Launce. 1779, 1828 [see parry n. 1]. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xvii, I made a thrust at him. 1879 G. Meredith Egoist xliii, He depended entirely on his agility to elude the thrusts that assailed him. |
b. transf. and
fig.| 1668 H. More Div. Dial. i. xi. 41 There is one thrust at your pure pretended Mechanism. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxii, The faithful old heart felt a sudden thrust. 1859 Meredith R. Feverel xlii, White thrusts of light were darted from the sky. 1872 Morley Voltaire i. 8 Those shrewd thrusts, that flashing scorn, that relentless fire,..with which..Voltaire pushed on his work of ‘crushing the Infamous’. |
c. In
phr. cut and thrust: see
cut n.2 2 c;
thrust and parry (
lit. and
fig.).
| 1763–1875 [see cut n.2 2 c]. 1889 Pall Mall G. 18 Oct. 1/2 A rollicking candidate whose thrust-and-parry recalls the days of the hustings. 1894 A. Birrell Men, Women & Bks. (ed. 2) 209 Swaggering Bohemians, cut-and-thrust men. 1905 Warren in Alderson Asquith ii. 20 In the rapid thrust and parry of passing repartee. |
† d. A bout of thrusting; a contest or encounter with swords.
Obs.| 1602 Earl of Northumberland in Collins Peerage (1779) II. 413 They two should have a thruste together. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf xii, I should like well to have a thrust with him on the green turf. |
e. The principal theme or gist (
of remarks, an argument, etc.); a point, aim, or purpose.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1968 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 17 Apr. (1970) 667 He spoke well... His thrust was that we..‘make open spaces and recreation facilities a part of the daily..environment of people’. 1972 A. Chapman New Black Voices 575 The Institute of the Black World in Atlanta... Its central thrust is towards the creation of an international center for Black Studies. 1973 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 1 Aug. 6/3 The thrust of your editorial..is premised on the discredited ‘compact theory’. 1977 Guardian Weekly 28 Aug. 18/4 That was the thrust of the exclusive story in the New York Times on March 10. Ibid. 6 Nov. 16/1 The postwar thrust of U.S. policy..has been to enlist Thailand in an anti-Communist alliance. 1982 Church Times 15 Jan. 12/4 A major part of the thrust of my article was to dissuade others from proposing such a cutback. |
7. Geol. = thrust-fault (sense 8 below.)
| 1888 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XLIV. 420 Outliers of the ‘Fucoid-beds’ and Serpulite-grit are found,..separated from each other by major thrusts. 1910 Ibid. LXVI. 593 Thrust is here employed in the sense of a fold-fault replacing the lower limb of an overturned anticline. Lag..is employed in the sense of a fold-fault replacing the upper limb of an overturned anticline. 1926 Ibid. LXXXII. 315 The Creag-an-Lochan Thrust. [Note] Equivalent to the ‘lag’ of E. B. Bailey [preceding quot.]; but the term ‘thrust’ is preferred and used throughout this paper for all structures indicating differential resistance to folding forces at a comparatively early stage. 1934 B. & R. Willis Geologic Structures (ed. 3) vii. 153 The term ‘thrust’ too often connotes the idea of an overthrust, whereas the structure may be an underthrust. 1942 E. M. Anderson Dynamics of Faulting i. 1 Overthrusts, or more simply thrusts, are faults which are inclined, in theory, at well under 45° to the horizon, and in field experience it is found that they are sometimes nearly horizontal. 1942 [see overthrust ppl. a.]. 1971 C. R. Twidale Structural Landforms iv. 98 In a normal thrust the upper block rides over the lower..but in a lag thrust the lower block is thrust forward and upwards beneath the upper. |
8. Comb. thrust augmentor Aeronaut., a procedure or modification used with a jet engine to increase its thrust; so
thrust augmentation;
† thrust-bearer,
thrust-bearing, a bearing designed to receive a thrust in machinery;
spec. the bearing in which revolves the foremost length of propeller-shafting in a screw steamer, its function being to transmit the thrust of the shaft to the hull of the ship;
thrust-block, a block supporting a thrust-bearing; the casting or frame carrying or containing the bearings on which the collars of the propeller-shaft press;
thrust-box, a box-bearing which sustains the end-thrust of a shaft (
Cent. Dict.);
thrust chamber Astronautics (see
quot.);
thrust-collar, each of the series of collars on a propeller-shaft, through which the thrust of the shaft is transmitted to the thrust-block and thence to the hull of the ship;
thrust-fault Geol., a reversed fault:
= overfault; in
mod. use, a low-angle reverse fault; also, any low-angle fault;
= sense 7 above; hence
thrust-faulted a.,
-faulting vbl. n.;
thrust-hoe: see
hoe n.2 1 b;
thrust-mass Geol., the displaced mass of rock in an overfault;
thrust-movement, movement caused by a thrust (3 a (d));
thrust-post, a post so placed as to take the thrust from a load or force;
thrust reverser Aeronaut., a device for reversing the flow of gas from a jet engine so as to produce a retarding backward thrust;
thrust-ring, a brass ring made in two halves fitted in between the collars on the thrust-shaft to transmit the horizontal thrust of the shaft to the thrust-block;
thrust screw, a thrusting-screw (
thrusting vbl. n. 3); see also
quot. 1888;
thrust-shaft, a propeller-shaft;
spec. that part of the shaft on which are the thrust-collars;
thrust spoiler Aeronaut., a device for deflecting the flow of gas from a jet engine so as to reduce the thrust quickly without reducing the engine power;
thrust vector, a vector representing the direction (and magnitude) of the thrust produced by a jet engine, propeller, etc.;
thrust washer, a washer (
washer n.2) against which a thrust-bearing rests. See also
thrust-plane.
| 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 534/2 *Thrust augmentation for jet engines is accomplished by after⁓burning, reheating, water injection, etc. 1967 N. E. Borden Jet-Engine Fundamentals 126 On some jet engines, it is advantageous to provide a means of thrust augmentation during take-off on warm or hot days. |
| 1933 *Thrust augmentor [see sense 3 a (e) above]. 1947 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LI. 79/1 The pumping could be directly produced by a ducted fan, when again a thrust augmentor effect would result. |
| 1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuild. xv. 287 In a Screw steam⁓ship it is necessary to make some arrangement by means of which the thrust of the propeller shaft shall be transmitted to the ship, and the injurious effects prevented which would result from the direct action of the thrust upon the machinery. For this purpose *thrust-bearers are fitted. |
| 1858 Mechanics' Mag. 6 Mar. 230/2 (heading) *Thrust bearing for screw propeller. 1864 Webster, Thrust-bearing (Screw-steamers). 1889 Whitham Steam Engine Design 264 Another form of thrust bearing often used consists of a single thrust collar, forged with the shaft. 1906 Sennett & Oram Marine Steam Engine 285 a, An ordinary plummer block should always be fitted close to the thrust bearing to take the weight of the shaft. |
| 1893 Pall Mall G. 2 Jan. 5/2 The shaft in the *thrust-block is twenty-five inches in diameter, and of solid steel. 1906 Sennett & Oram M.S. Eng. 285 a, Thrust blocks are carried on strong plate bearers generally fixed to not less than three frames of the ship. |
| 1918 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 291 Pretty drawings in colour of such things as *thrust-boxes and oil-pumps. |
| 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics x. 413 The rocket *thrust chamber is a device into which propellants are injected and burned to form gases. The basic components of the thrust chamber are the injector, the combustion chamber, and the exhaust nozzle. |
| 1889 *Thrust-collar [see thrust-bearing]. |
| 1889 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1888 659 He suggested a *thrust-fault through the Mendip axis carrying its upper portion northward. 1903 Nature 20 Aug. 375/1 The overfolding and repetition of strata by thrust-faults. 1915 C. Schuchert in Pirsson & Schuchert Text-bk. Geol. I. xiv. 344 Reverse faults..having a gently inclined fault-surface are known as thrust-faults or simply thrusts. 1944 [see overthrust n.]. 1972 J. G. Dennis Structural Geol. xii. 271 Since thrust faults were originally considered a class of reverse faults, they should bring older rocks over younger. So many low-dip normal faults have been called thrusts, however, that we must include all low-dip faults in this class. 1980 Sci. Amer. Oct. 127/2 The thrust faults and folds indicate that the rocks were much compressed in the horizontal direction. |
| Ibid., The Valley and Ridge province is characterized by folded and *thrust-faulted strata of mostly unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks formed between 600 million and 300 million years ago. |
| 1912 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LXVIII. 59 The occurrence of these inliers is due to *thrust-faulting. 1936 Geogr. Jrnl. LXXXVII. 224 The Purari Plateau is characterized by..extensive uplifting with the accompanying development of block-faulting, probably more normal faulting than thrust-faulting. |
| 1901 Nature 24 Jan. 294/2 Three higher tiers of *thrust-masses are present on the west of the Linth Valley. |
| 1890 Hardwicke's Sci. Gossip XXVI. 238/1 An arch of Cambrian rocks..repeatedly broken on the west side by *thrust-movements, causing newer beds to be driven over beds of various horizons, in some cases many thousands of feet apart in the succession. |
| 1954 Flight Handbk. (ed. 5) xi. 164 (caption) A turbojet *thrust-reverser developed by the American Boeing company. The jet is deflected by a W-shaped pair of clamshell doors. 1976 B. Jackson Flame-out (1977) x. 182 At his low altitude there was simply no way he could correct the thrust reverser before he hit the deck. |
| 18.. Whitham Const. Steam Engin. 102 *Thrust-ring. 1906 Sennett & Oram M.S. Eng. 285 a, Another form of thrust block..containing separate brass thrust rings fitted in the bearing to form the rubbing surfaces. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Thrust-screw. 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Terms Mech. Engin. 374 Thrust Screw, a screw with or without the power of endlong adjustment, which takes the thrust of a revolving spindle. Examples of thrust screws occur at the top of the drill spindles of some drilling machines, and in the back centres of the headstocks of lathes. |
| 1893 Daily News 6 Feb. 6/3 The Cunard steamer Umbria..will be placed in the graving dock..and refitted with new *thrust shaft. 1906 Sennett & Oram M.S. Eng. 285 a, These horseshoe collars fit between the collars on the thrust shaft. |
| 1947 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LI. 679/2 The *thrust spoiler could be operated in one second. So that if a pilot came in with the thrust spoiled, failed to land, and wished to make another circuit, the full thrust was available in one second. |
| 1962 Flight Internat. LXXXII. 395/1 In the pioneer SC.1 the lift units are arranged in two pairs both mounted on lateral trunnions to pivot some 25° fore and aft, in order to provide longitudinal thrust components to assist transition to and from wing-supported flight. This idea has now given way to a fixed installation with *thrust-vector control. 1975 Offshore Engineer Dec. 54/2 (Advt.), The whole unit, and thus the thrust vector, can be directed through 360°, which means that it has been possible to optimise the nozzle and propeller for one main flow direction. |
| 1954 *Thrust washer [see spacer 1 a]. 1962 [see oil-retaining s.v. oil n.1 6 b]. 1970 K. Ball Fiat 600, 600D Autobook ix. 106/2 If the line is out of centre, vary the number of shims beneath the thrust washer. |
▪ II. thrust, v. (
θrʌst)
Pa. tense and
pple. thrust. Forms: see below.
[Early ME. (c 1200) þrusten (ü), þrysten, a. ON. þr{yacu}sta to thrust, press, compress, force (Norw. tryste, Aasen, to press, squeeze). ON. þr{yacu}sta (:—þrūstj-) has been doubtfully referred to Indo-Eur. trud-, trūd-, in L. trūdĕre to thrust (Falk and Torp).] A. Illustration of Forms.
1. inf. and pres. stem. α3 *
þrust-e (
y), 3–6
þrist-en, 4
þrist, 4–6
thrist, 5
thryste.
| c 1300 Havelok 1152, I shal hangen þe ful heye, Or y shal þristen vt þin eie. c 1330 Þrist [see B. 3]. 1388 Wyclif Mark iii. 9 Lest thei thristen hym. 1483 Cath. Angl. 386/1 To Thryste downe, oppremere. 1510–20 Everyman in Hazl. Dodsley I. 138 Go, thrist thee into the ground. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. vii. (S.T.S.) II. 43 Sche thristis in her tender arme into the hole of the bar. |
(
β) 5
þrust-e, 6–7
thruste (7
thurst), 6–
thrust.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 347 Yisterday he thristid down þe erth, and þis day þe erth þrustis hym down. 1530, etc. Thrust [see B. 3, etc.]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 216 b, He fortuned to thruste of a stone. |
2. pa. tense. α2–3
þruste (ü), 3–5
þriste,
þrist, 4
thryste, 4–5
thriste.
| [c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 131 He to-þruste þa stelene gate and to brec þa irene barren of helle.] c 1205 Lay. 30341 æiðer þratte oðer swiðe and þruste mid worde. c 1250 ðrist, c 1290 Þruste [see B. 1]. c 1374 Þriste [see B. 6 b]. |
(
β) 5–6
thruste (5
throste, 6
thurst), 6–
thrust.
| c 1410 Thruste [see B. 5]. c 1470 Harding Chron. xii. ii. (MS. Ashm. 34) lf. 12 b, This Gogmagog so throste [v. rr. thrast, -e] Coryneus. 1526, 1535– Thrust; 1560 Thruste [see B. 1, 1 c, etc.]. 1568 Thurst [see B. 6]. |
(
γ) 5
thristid (5–6
Sc. -it), 6
thristed; 7–8
thrusted.
| c 1440 Thristid [see A. 1 β]. c 1475 Thristit [see B. 3]. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus iv. 590 Swa in hir armis than scho him thristit. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 194 He thrusted out Cain from the same. 1788 Thrusted [see B. 6 b]. |
3. pa. pple. α4
þryst, 4–5
thrist, 5
thriste,
thryst,
þirstyn.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8889 When þey ofte hadde put & þryst..Ȝit stirede þey nought þe leste ston. 13.. Thrist [see B. 6 quot. a 1300]. 14.. Gosp. Nicodemus (A.) 1443 And in thraldame thrist hym þou has. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love i. v. 11 To god þai ȝelde no deuocion, for þe byrdyn of riches with þe whilk þai ar þirstyn to þe erth. 1483 Cath. Angl. 386/1 Thriste downe, oppressus. 1495 Thryst [see B. 6 b]. |
(
β) 4, 6–
thrust (6
thurst); 4
Sc. thrustyne,
thrussine.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 581 Bot I, vnhappy, thrustyne sare, A fut mycht nocht get forthyr-mare. Ibid. xxxvii. (Vincencius) 285 He..wes..thrussine done. 1382 Wyclif Judg. vi. 38 [Dew] thrust out of the fleese [Vulg. expresso vellere]. 1573–80, 1577, etc. Thrust [see B. 5, 1 b, etc.]. |
(
γ) 4–5
þristed, 4
Sc. thristit, 7–9
thrusted.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 516 His stafe..has he..in þe maste hoile..thristit ful faste. c 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 65 Þat it may..be þristed out. 1665 Thrusted [see B. 1]. |
B. Signification.
I. 1. a. trans. To exert the force of impact upon or against (a body) so as to move it away; to push, shove, drive. Chiefly with adverb or
advb. phr. (Now chiefly literary.)
| [c 1175: see A. 2 α.] c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2110, vii. lene [ears of corn]..ðe ranc he hauen ðo ouer-cumen,..and, on a stund, ðe fette ðrist hem to ðo grund. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 328/188 Seint Clement..in grete wrath þe hire pulte a-wei and to þe grounde upriȝt þruste. a 1400–50 Alexander 1407 Þai..Thristis ouir thikefald many threuyn bernes. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxi. 39 They caught hym and thrust him out of the vyneyarde. 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 152 And up they thrust the same [door], And softly entred in. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 202 Thrust him downe stayres. 1665 Hooke Microgr. vi. 23 Another Ladle thrusted four or five inches under water. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. ix. 203, I caused the boat to be thrust in. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xix. 135 The glacier is forcibly thrust..against the projecting base of the mountain. |
b. transf. and
fig. Applied to action of any kind having an effect analogous to that of physical pushing or moving. Often in
phr. to thrust out, to expel, eject.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 217 Whan Sir Symon wist, þe dome ageyn þam gon, His felonie forth thrist. 1535 Coverdale Josh. xxiv. 18 The Lorde thrust out before vs all the people of the Amorites. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 161 Dionysius of Syracuse is reported for his tyranny to have been thrust beside his seate. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 156 Though wee would haue thrust vertue out of our hearts by the head and shoulders. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 513 King Henry the Eighth thrust out the Monkes. 1655 Jer. Taylor Guide Devot. (1719) 14 He only can preserve them in the same Being, and thrust them forward to a better. 1854 H. Rogers Ess. (1860) II. 2 Thrusting aside all authority but that of Reason. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 222 They were now, without any trial, without any accusation, thrust out of their house. |
c. absol. or intr. To push against something; to make a thrust. (
lit. and
fig.)
| c 1205 [see A. 2 α]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8886 Þey schouued, þey þriste, þey stode o strot. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxvii[i]. 13 They thrust at me, that I might fall. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 80 One of them with his staffe, thruste at the Image of a saincte, in so muche that it fell downe and brake. 1648 Gage West Ind. 176 They still at the door thrusting. |
† 2. intr. To come
together with force of impact; to strike together, collide.
Obs.| 13.. Cursor M. 22683 (Edin.) Al þe stanis þat er mad..Wit þrawing sal tai samin þrist [other MSS. threst, þrest], Þat al to pecis sal tai brist. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxv. 28 Thir terrible monsteris sall togidder thrist, And in the cludis gett the Antechrist. |
3. a. intr. To push or force one's way, as through a crowd; to crowd
in; to make one's way or advance as against obstacles; to press onwards or into a place, etc. Also
fig.| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 277 Fleand fast þei þrist. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 694 He thristit in throw threttie all at anis. 1530 Palsgr. 757/1, I thrust in to a place thorowe a prease. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xvi. (1623) 854 It will be best abruptly to thrust into the narration. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 26 That night we came to Callipoly..and thrust into a little haven North of the towne. 1653 W. Lauson in Arb. Garner I. 197 They thrust up little brooks to spawn. 1760 Wesley Jrnl. 10 Aug., A person hugely daubed with gold thrust violently in. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xii, She thrust in between them. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xvii, He thrust in with so earnest and sad a face that the servants let him pass. |
† b. trans. To press upon or push against; to throng, to jostle.
Obs.| c 1375 [see A. 3 β]. 1388 Wyclif Mark v. 31 Thou seest the puple thristynge thee: and seist, Who touchide me? 1526 Tindale ibid., Thou seist the people thrustinge the on euery syde. 1589 Bruce Serm. Sacram. iii. I v, Thou art thrumbled and thrusted be the multitude. 1642 [see thrusting vbl. n. 1]. |
† c. To press (objects) into a confined space; also, to fill (a space) densely; to crowd, cram.
Obs.| c 1380 [see thrusting vbl. n. 1]. 1614 T. Tomkis Albumazar i. iii, A Hall thrust full of bare-heads. |
† 4. trans. To press, compress, squeeze.
Obs. (
exc. in
spec. reference to cheese-making:
cf. thrusting vbl. n. 2,
thrusting-screw,
-tub, ibid. 3).
| 1382 [see A. 3 β]. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiv. (Bodl. MS.), With compressing and þrusting togederes þe wey of the breþe. c 1400 Pety Job 98 in 26 Pol. Poems 124 To thryste me doune, and me accuse. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 491/2 Thrystyn, or pressyn, premo, comprimo. 1530 Palsgr. 757/1, I thrust togyther, je compresse... He hath thrust the appell so moche togyder that it is naugth. 1539 Bible (Great) Judg. vi. 38 He..thrust the flece togeather, and wronge the dewe therout. a 1550 Freiris of Berwik 168 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 290 He thristit hir hand agane richt prevely. 1794 Wedge Agric. Chester 52 Thrusting or hand-pressing the Cheese in the Vat [cf. thrusting vbl. n. 2]. |
II. † 5. a. To strike with a pushing action; to stab or pierce
with a pointed instrument.
Obs.| c 1410 Chron. Eng. (Ritson) 671 The thef braid out is knyf anon, Ant to the heorte the kyng thruste. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 305 b, They..with a sharpe speare..thrust the..vnto thy blessed herte. 1573–80 Baret Alv. T 218 It is Thrust through with a needle,..traiectatur acu. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 10 He was thrust in the mouth with a Speare. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 91, I..with my sword thrust him [a wild boar] twice or thrice without entering his skin. 1770 Trial W. Spiggot, etc. Heref. 3 That the said William Williams struck, thrusted, and stabbed him..with a certain sword. |
b. intr. To make a thrust, stab, or lunge with a pointed weapon;
spec. in
Fencing. Also
fig.| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 223 These foure..thrust at me; I..tooke all their seuen points in my target. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 64–5 To strike or thrust as he shall see occasion;..to strike or thrust high or low as his Enemy doth. 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met. xii. 642 He next his Fauchion try'd, in closer Fight;..He thrust; the blunted Point return'd again. 1826 Scott Woodst. xxxvii, His sword had no more power than had he thrusted with a tobacco-pipe. 1869 Boutell Arms & Arm. ii. (1874) 23 This formidable weapon served equally well to deliver blows..and to thrust with the point. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. xix. 172 Thrust home! 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 404 Fancy thrust and Reason parry! |
6. a. trans. To cause (anything,
esp. something grasped in the hand) to enter, pierce, or penetrate some thing or place by or as by pushing; to put, drive, or force into some place or position.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 557 (Cott.) Als prient of seel in wax es thrist. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xix. (Cristofore) 264 Thrist it [the staff] fast done in þe grownd. 1526 Tindale Rev. xiv. 15 Thruste in thy sycle and rype. a 1550 Freiris of Berwik 134 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 289 Scho..thristit on fatt caponis to the speit. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 24 He..sodenly thurst his speare into the kinges left eye. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 23 By thrusting out a Torch from yonder Tower. 1647 Ward Simp. Cobler (title-p.), Coblers must thrust their awles up to the hefts. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. viii, I then fastened my handkerchief to a stick..and, thrusting it up the hole, waved it. 1832 H. Martineau Ella of Gar. i, A bunch of seabirds' feathers, which he thrust into Ella's hand. 1832 Tennyson Dream Fair Women 259 You should have..thrust The dagger thro' her side. |
b. To put forth, extend (a limb or member) into some place or in some direction; to put forth, throw out, or extend, as in the process of growth (a root, branch, or connected part) so as to project.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1525 (1574) With that his arm al sodeynly he þriste Vnder here nekke and at þe laste here keste. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. vii. lii. (W. de W.), In the dropesye..yf ones fynger be thryst in to the flesshe it makyth an hole other a pytte. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. i. 29 The Lyon dying, thrusteth forth his Paw. 1596 [see A. 1 α]. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 189 From S. Michaels mount Southward, immediatly there is thrust forth a bi-land or demi-Ile. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xlvi, I perceived him thrust his tongue in his cheek. 1788 Lond. Mag. 240 Each..thrusted his head through a hole in the curtain. 1815 Scott Guy M. viii, Thrusting his hand in his pocket to find a half-crown. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. x. 353 Those hills are the western roots which Hermon thrusts out towards the sea. Mod. As a tree thrusts its roots deep into the soil and its branches high into the air. |
c. transf. and
fig. (See also 7.)
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 398 Thrust thy sharpe wit quite through my ignorance. 1601 ― Jul. C. v. iii. 74 Thrusting this report Into his eares. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 1/1 Geographers thrust into the extremities of their maps, those countries that are unknown to them. 1795 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 285, I shall say more..since you suffer me to thrust in my opinion. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. iii. 38 On the art of thrusting knowledge into the minds of such children. |
III. 7. fig. To put (a person) forcibly
into some condition or course of action (usually against his own will);
refl. to put oneself rashly, ‘plunge’ (into danger,
quot. 1639).
| 14.. [see A. 3 α]. 1639 in Verney Memoirs (1907) I. 186, I will not willfully thrust myself in danger. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Prophecy Wks. (1711) 179 To remedy our evils by the thrusting us into a civil war; and the medicine is worse than the disease. 1654 Jer. Taylor Real Pres. iv. 75 Into the concession of this Bellarmine is thrust by the force of our argument. 1750 Whitefield Let. to Lady Huntingdon 24 Mar., O that the Lord of the harvest would thrust out more labourers! 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 296 The very men who were now thrust into antagonism with his sentiments. |
b. To put (something) improperly
into some position; to insinuate (
quot. 1574);
esp. in
phr. thrust in, to introduce irrelevantly, interpolate.
| 1574 tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 5 Prouoke vs to impaciencie, or thruste any douting of Gods promise into vs. 1654 Jer. Taylor Real Pres. Ep. Ded. A iv, It is..suspected, that..the tale..was a long time after..thrust in by some Monk in a place to which it relates not. 1861 Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Supplices 267 note, The MSS. have ἔχονδ’, in which δ’ seems to have been thrust in for the sake of the metre. |
8. a. To put (a person) forcibly
into some position (against the will of others concerned); to intrude (some one)
upon (a person or persons).
| 1559 in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. App. viii. 23 Stephen Langhton, thrust into the archebisshoppricke of Canterbury by the pope. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 92 Why would you not haue pastors to be thrust vpon the churches, whether the churches will or not? 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. II. 586 He..conjured his friends not to vote for a candidate who would be thrust upon them by the Centre. |
b. refl. To intrude oneself
into any position, condition, or circumstances, or
upon another person; to push oneself forward.
| 1530 Palsgr. 757/1, I thruste my selfe in to a prease or amongest a company. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. ii. 65 How dare you thrust your selues Into my priuate Meditations? 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xliv. 336 A stranger that thrusteth himself into the throne. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xvii, They would thrust themselves into my company. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 185 He ceased to insist on his right to thrust himself between the First Lord and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1867 A. J. Wilson Vashti xiv, I should not feel justified thrusting myself into her presence. |
c. To put (something) forcibly (
into the hands of a person); to press, force, or impose the acceptance of (
upon some one).
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 110 How..to order these affaires Thus disorderly thrust into my hands. 1601 ― Twel. N. ii. v. 158 Some are born great, some atcheeue greatnesse, and some haue greatnesse thrust vppon em. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xxvii, She had no alternative but to assume the position which was thus thrust upon her. |
IV. 9. Comb., as
thrust stage Theatr., an open stage that projects into the auditorium so that the audience is seated around three sides.
| 1968 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 1 June 22 The Fine Arts Theatre..is a compact, multipurpose amphitheater seating 600, which can be utilized for conventional theatricals, as a thrust stage, or even—with the built-in pit—for musicals and intimate opera. 1969 Guardian 28 Oct. 7/3 Knighted actors argue the merits of a ‘thrust’ stage for the costly new Sheffield Theatre. 1977 Times 25 Aug. 15/4 Kate went to the University of Toronto where they had just built a superb thrust-stage theatre. |
▪ III. thrust, ppl. a. [See the vb.] With adverbs, as
thrust-out adj. = out-thrust ppl. a.
| 1872 R. W. Buchanan St. Abe & his Seven Wives 153 And with thrust-out jaw and set Teeth, the Yankee threatens yet. 1976 [see snake-hipped s.v. snake n. 11]. |
▪ IV. thrust(e obs. forms of
thirst.