push back
"push-back" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“push back” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To refute or argue against a position or an accusation; to express one's own view on a situation.
Corpus desk
Index EN-push-back · push back · English
push back · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | push back |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “push back” in English
Rare enough to double-check
push back is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
push back has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is push back, spelled P-U-S-H- -B-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1To refute or argue against a position or an accusation; to express one's own view on a situation.
- 2To postpone.
- 3To summarily expel asylum seekers, especially in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
- 4Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see push, back.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how push back appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The scandal is growing legs. We need to start pushing back.
The Friday meeting keeps getting pushed back to the following week.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.