pushdown

English

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

From push +‎ down; by analogy with a spring-loaded stack of plates in a cafeteria.

Adjective

pushdown (not comparable)

  1. (computing) Describing a stack in which items are removed in a LIFO manner from the end at which they were added.

Noun

pushdown (plural pushdowns)

  1. A pushdown automaton.
    • 2003, Wilfried Brauer, Hartmut Ehrig, Juhani Karhumäki, Formal and Natural Computing: Essays:
      Since indexed grammars are context-free grammars with pushdowns, the generalization of Thatcher's result shows that they generate the yields of the tree languages recognized by deterministic pushdown tree automata.

Etymology 2

Deverbal from push down.

Noun

pushdown (plural pushdowns)

  1. (bodybuilding) An exercise that requires one to push weight downward.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Greg Merritt, “Go Beyond Failure with Dropsets”, in Muscle & Fitness[1]:
      Machine exercises with weight stacks, like pushdowns or pulldowns, are ideal for cranking out more than three drops because all you need to do is insert the pin in a higher (lighter) slot each time.

Adjective

pushdown (not comparable)

  1. Used by being pushed down.
    • 2008 September 1, Charlie Brooker, “I am increasingly concerned that at the centre of my soul lurks a terrifying blankness. Any suggestions?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 November 2020, page 5, column 2:
      [T]he unfortunate few who suffer from it [ejaculatory anhedonia] are incapable of deriving any pleasure whatsoever from orgasms. They make a bit of mess while staring impassively into the middle distance, and that's it. Like the human equivalent of a pushdown soap-dispenser.
    • 2018 March 19, Maxine Builder, “How to Organize Your Kitchen and Pantry, According to Professional Organizers”, in The Strategist[3], New York, N.Y.: New York Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 March 2018:
      The containers we always use for those are the OXO ones that have the pushdown button, so I think it probably does stay fresher than flour in a paper bag, and in that way, it works.
    • 2021 April 21, Helen Wilson-Beevers, “Peace Out: We tried the US skincare brand that’s TikTok-famous for its pore strips”, in The Independent[4], London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 4 February 2022:
      This 30ml serum bottle has a pushdown release nozzle applicator.