Learn English – What do you call the gesture of mildly hitting someone else with your elbow

expressions

When you mildly hit someone else's elbow with your own as a gesture of complicity, what do you call that?

All I've found in dictionaries from my mother tongue to English is jostle, which is way too aggressive, isn't necessarily intentional, and doesn't convey the element of complicity.

Some more information: if you saw a girl or boy you find cute while with a friend, you could make this gesture to tell your friend to look at him or her. You could also do this if you're in class/a conference/a meeting next to someone who is sleeping in order to wake them up.

Here is a photo of what I mean (not a great fit, but it's close enough):

enter image description here

Best Answer

I would call it a nudge. There's a Monty Python skit where one man is asking questions full of innuendo and then says "Nudge, nudge. Wink wink."

Monty Python Candid Photography

When the younger man says "Nudge, nudge." he jostles the older man with his elbow. It's a comedy skit, so it's very exaggerated. In a more normal context, you might say 'I nudged my friend (with my elbow) when the cute girl walked by.'