push around
B1 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To bully someone or treat them unfairly by controlling them.
Literal meaning: To physically push someone in different directions — extended to dominating or controlling them.
Meanings
1 B1
idiomatic
informal
To treat someone in a bullying, domineering, or disrespectful way.
"No one is going to push me around — I know my rights."
"Nobody pushes me around."
— Commonly used line in American film and television drama, widely associated with assertive characters across multiple works
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Very common in both British and American English. Often appears in defiant phrases: 'I won't be pushed around'. Can describe physical bullying or psychological domination.
Commonly used with
people employees kids others smaller countries
Forms
Base
push around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
pushes around
he/she/it
Past simple
pushed around
yesterday
Past participle
pushed around
have + pp
-ing form
pushing around
continuous
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