pushing the envelope

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Going outside normal boundaries to achieve a target or goal (such as exceeding specifications).

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Vượt qua giới hạn thông thường để đạt mục tiêu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Business & corporate jargon
Sources & notes

Imported from Wikipedia “List of business terms” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review.

Common questions

What does “pushing the envelope” mean?

Going outside normal boundaries to achieve a target or goal (such as exceeding specifications).

Is “pushing the envelope” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.