elbow bump

plural elbow bumps

1. A hit to the elbow; also, an injury to the elbow caused by such a hit.
2. A hit or jab made with the elbow.
3. The touching of elbows between two people, sometimes as an alternative to a handshake, fist bump, or other form of contact when attempting to avoid the spread of germs.

   When greeting people, best to avoid elbow bumps because they put you within 1 meter of the other person. I like to put my hand on my heart when I greet people these days.

   2020 March 8, Marthe Fourcade, Thomas Mulier, quoting Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “Even Elbow-bumping is Too Intimate to Ward Off Coronavirus”, in Bloomberg News, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2020

   2 more examples

   To the pantheon of social arbiters who came up with the firm handshake, the formal bow and the air kiss, get ready to add a new fashion god: the World Health Organization, chief advocate of the "elbow bump." […] The bump, a simple touching of elbows, is a substitute for the filthy practice of shaking hands, in which a person who has politely sneezed into a palm then passes a virus to other hands, whose owners then put a finger in an eye or a pen in a mouth.

   2006 February 12, Donald G[erard] McNeil, Jr., “Elbows to the ready if outbreak emerges: Bird flu would rule out handshakes”, in International Herald Tribune, Paris: International Herald Tribune, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2007

   Instead of handshakes or high-fives, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams introduced the elbow bump at a news conference in Connecticut as a possible alternative to avoid the coronavirus. He showed reporters how it was done by demonstrating the elbow bump with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Gov. Ned Lamont.

   2020 March 4, Adrianna Rodriguez, “Goodbye, handshake. Hello, elbow bump? Greetings to avoid during the coronavirus outbreak”, in USA Today, McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2020

   Synonyms: elbow shake, elbow tap