Push-ups are exercises to strengthen your arms and chest muscles. They are done by lying with your face towards the floor and pushing with your hands to raise your body until your arms are straight.
[US]regional note: in BRIT, use press-ups
push-up in British English
noun
US and Canadian
an exercise in which the body is alternately raised from and lowered to the floor by the arms only, the trunk being kept straight with the toes and hands resting on the floor
Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): press-up
push-up in American English
(ˈpʊʃˌʌp) or ˈpushˌup (ˈpʊʃˌʌp)
noun
an exercise in which a person lying face down, with the hands under the shoulders, raises the body by pushing down with the palms: push-ups are usually done in series by alternately straightening and bending the arms
Examples of 'push-up' in a sentence
push-up
I reached the hole and straddled it, then did a push-up and looked down.
Lisa Scottoline LEGAL TENDER (2001)
In other languages
push-up
British English: push-up /ˈpʊʃʌp/ NOUN
Push-ups are exercises to strengthen your arms and chest muscles. They are done by lying with your face towards the floor and pushing with your hands to raise your body until your arms are straight.