push the envelope
To go beyond established limitsTo go beyond established limits; to pioneer.
» Tom is pushing the envelope.
Spamster · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To go beyond established limits; to pioneer.
They pushed the envelope on pricing derivatives.
bis an die Grenze gehen
Examples
2 sentencesTom is pushing the envelope.
You can't just pass off your questionable sartorial decisions as "pushing the envelope" of fashion.
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From push (“to continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal”) + the + envelope (“sFrom push (“to continually exert oneself in order to achieve a goal”) + the + envelope (“set of limitations within which a technological system can perform safely and effectively”) (compare flight envelope), referring to the boundary line on a graph of an aircraft’s capabilities, especially those of altitude and speed. The term was popularized by the book The Right Stuff (1979) by the American author and journalist Tom Wolfe (1930–2018) about the pilots engaged in United States postwar research with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft, and the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s human spaceflight program.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
pushes the envelope, pushing the envelope, pushed the envelope, pushed the envelope| Base form | push the envelope · to push the envelope |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | pushes the envelope |
| Present participle | pushing the envelope |
| Past simple | pushed the envelope |
| Past participle | pushed the envelope |
irregular
Synonyms
2 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle