push the envelope
To go beyond established limits; to pioneer.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“They always push the envelope with their new designs.”
“The director likes to push the envelope by using experimental filming techniques in every movie.”
“By integrating artificial intelligence into traditional architecture, the firm continues to push the envelope of modern urban design.”
first recorded 20th c.
The term originates from the flight envelope, a mathematical graph defining the altitude and speed limitations within which an aircraft operates safely. To push the envelope is to test the boundary line of these capabilities, moving the aircraft into the unstable region where the technological system may no longer perform effectively.
It was popularized in 1979 by the American author and journalist Tom Wolfe in his book, The Right Stuff. Wolfe used the phrase to describe the professional habits of pilots conducting postwar research in the United States with experimental rocket-powered aircraft. These figures, along with the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s human spaceflight program, made a career of inhabiting the margins of the graph until the margins gave way.
- 01
jump before one is pushed
to perform an action before being forced to do so.
- 02
opening of an envelope
Any kind of event or activity that may contribute to one's self-promotion or visibility in society.
- 03
push against an open door
To do something pointless or unnecessary; to try doing something already done.
- 04
push in
To jump the queue, especially in a forceful manner.
- 05
push it
To make an extraordinary or risky effort; to behave in a way which tests the limits; to take chances; to expect too much.
- 06
push on
To persist, persevere.
- 07
push one's luck
To take an excessive risk or to attempt some task unlikely to succeed, especially after having already been unexpectedly lucky.
- 08
push one's way
to make one's way by pushing.
Last updated August 10, 2026