shoehorn

1 of 2

noun

shoe·​horn ˈshü-ˌhȯrn 

: a curved piece (as of horn, wood, or metal) used in putting on a shoe

shoehorn

2 of 2

verb

shoehorned; shoehorning; shoehorns

transitive verb

1

: to force to be included or admitted

shoehorned irrelevant arguments into his essay

2

: to force or compress into an insufficient space or period of time : squeeze

shoehorn the past, present, and future into about 500 pages

—Otis Port

Synonyms

Verb

• cram
• squeeze
• stuff

Examples of shoehorn in a Sentence

Verb

A parking garage has been shoehorned between the buildings.

She's trying to shoehorn a year's worth of classes into a single semester.

I don't know how they managed to shoehorn everyone into that little room.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Stephanie doesn’t use her wealth like a shoehorn, trying to fit herself into a situation like Sutton Stracke does. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2025

If there’s a way to shoehorn in a Las Vegas dance number, complete with jazz hands and ostrich feathers, do it! —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2025

Verb

Cruz spearheaded an amendment to shoehorn more than $10 billion into the legislation, also known as a reconciliation bill, to save some of those NASA targets. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 July 2025

The Park Ji-hoon cameo K-dramas have a glorious tradition of random actor cameos shoehorned into the main plot in creative ways. —Kayti Burt, Time, 11 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1589, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shoehorn

• adorn
• airborne
• blackthorn
• broomcorn
• buckhorn
• buckthorn
• careworn
• firstborn
• foodborne
• forborne
• forewarn
• forlorn

Kids Definition

shoehorn

noun

shoe·​horn

-ˌhȯrn

: a curved piece (as of metal) to help in putting on a shoe