elbow

Everyday

1. Your elbow is the joint in the middle of your arm where it bends. tree →
2. To elbow someone means to push them with your elbow. tree →

In the lessons

In science the elbow is a hinge joint that lets the arm bend one way, like a door. In health, you should cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands, to stop germs spreading. In manners, «Keep your elbows off the table» is an old table rule. In sport, elbowing another player is a foul. In everyday life you «elbow your way» through a crowd (pushing rudely). «Elbow room» means space to move.

Examples

• Sneeze into your elbow, not your hands. tree →
• I fell off my bike and grazed my elbow. tree →
• Your elbow is a hinge joint. tree →
• Please keep your elbows off the table. tree →
• He elbowed me in the queue! tree →
• She leaned her elbows on the desk. tree →
• There's no elbow room on this crowded bus. tree →
• Hardly had he spoken these words, when the Swede raised himself on his elbow. tree →

Note

Countable: an elbow (an, because it starts with a vowel sound). Regular verb: elbowed. The «funny bone» is in the elbow; it is not a bone but a nerve that tingles when knocked. Elbowing people is rude and can be a foul in sport.

In Jewish tradition

In Ezekiel, women sew cushions for every elbow, meaning they used fake magic charms to trap souls, and the prophet condemns this. In the primary lessons: In science the elbow is a hinge joint that lets the arm bend one way, like a door. In health, you should cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands, to stop germs spreading. In manners, «Keep your elbows off the table» is an old table rule. In sport, elbowing another player is a foul. In everyday life you «elbow your way» through a crowd (pushing rudely). «Elbow room» means space to move.

Examples

• and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the women that sew cushions upon all elbows, and make pads for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! (Prophets EZK.13.18, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: an elbow (an, because it starts with a vowel sound). Regular verb: elbowed. The «funny bone» is in the elbow; it is not a bone but a nerve that tingles when knocked. Elbowing people is rude and can be a foul in sport.