shove

1 of 2

verb

ˈshəv 

shoved; shoving

transitive verb

1

: to push along

2

: to push or put in a rough, careless, or hasty manner : thrust

3

: to force by other than physical means : compel

shove a bill through the legislature

intransitive verb

1

: to move by forcing a way

bargain hunters shoving up to the counter

2

a

: to move something by exerting force

b

: leave

—usually used with off

shoved off for home

shover noun

shove

2 of 2

noun

: an act or instance of shoving : a forcible push

Synonyms of shove

Verb

• push
• drive
• thrust

Examples of shove in a Sentence

Verb

He shoved the door until it finally opened.

A large man shoved me out of the way.

She shoved her plate aside.

He shoved me into the pool.

A group of security guards shoved through the crowd.

The children were pushing and shoving to see the clowns.

Noun

He gave the door a shove, and it opened.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Coming off the awful travel out of Chicago from July 9 into July 10, in which the Red Sox had two plane issues and arrived just a couple hours before first pitch, Gray shoved. — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Even Christmas brought misery in the form of an ICE agent dressed up as Santa, who shoved away children trying to hug him, according to the detainee declarations submitted to the court. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

Noun

The pair are said to have exchanged shoves and throws before prison guards were able to separate them. — Cheyenne Roundtree, VIBE.com, 24 July 2026

Replay clearly showed that wasn’t the case and Giants broadcaster Dave Flemming couldn’t believe the umpires saying there was a shove. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English scūfan to thrust away; akin to Old High German scioban to push and probably to Lithuanian skubti to hurry

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing shove

• force/ram/shove (something) down someone's throat
• push comes to shove
• shove it
• shove off
• shove over
• shove up

Rhymes for shove

• dove
• glove
• love
• of
• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• hereinabove

Kids Definition

shove

1 of 2 verb

ˈshəv 

shoved; shoving

1

: to push with steady force

2

: to push along or away carelessly or rudely

shoved her out of the way

3

: depart sense 1

—usually used with off

time to shove off for home

shover noun

shove

2 of 2 noun

: an act or instance of shoving