as in crammed
to fit (people or things) into a tight space
the organizers of the county fair shoehorned the craft booths between the midway and the farm exhibits
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shoehorned
Williams is being shoehorned into a rotation that’s suddenly getting more crowded, providing coach Charles Lee with a good problem in the health department for once.
—
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 16 Jan. 2026
In typical Hollywood fashion, though, a spin on the concept just had to be shoehorned in here.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
The special’s opening half-hour is a series of meaningful opening salvos like this, cannily shoehorned into catch-up anecdotes, each of them laying the groundwork for where Nanjiani ultimately wants the hour to land without tipping his hand in one direction or another.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Of course, that’s exactly what Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu and the developer want; A knockdown, drag out, talk radio donnybrook over a shelter being shoehorned into a tiny former nursing home nestled among a family neighborhood in the Holy Name parish.
—Lou Murray, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
With a roster that includes Margot Robbie, Miles Teller and Brooke Shields, Ullman says tariff anxiety shoehorned into an already volatile market and tense political climate has pushed clients to be far more conservative.
—Trey Williams, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
They were adapted from existing internal combustion engine platforms, with the electric powertrains shoehorned inside.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
The questions suggest that the commissioners want to see something better than what is offered at Portside Pier, where a second floor walkway was shoehorned into the project after its design, creating a sometimes-awkward experience for restaurant patrons and the public.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
The matches are shoehorned into the tournaments, often on outer courts and at odd times.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 16 Jan. 2026
In typical Hollywood fashion, though, a spin on the concept just had to be shoehorned in here.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
The special’s opening half-hour is a series of meaningful opening salvos like this, cannily shoehorned into catch-up anecdotes, each of them laying the groundwork for where Nanjiani ultimately wants the hour to land without tipping his hand in one direction or another.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Of course, that’s exactly what Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu and the developer want; A knockdown, drag out, talk radio donnybrook over a shelter being shoehorned into a tiny former nursing home nestled among a family neighborhood in the Holy Name parish.
—Lou Murray, Boston Herald, 29 Oct. 2025
With a roster that includes Margot Robbie, Miles Teller and Brooke Shields, Ullman says tariff anxiety shoehorned into an already volatile market and tense political climate has pushed clients to be far more conservative.
—Trey Williams, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
They were adapted from existing internal combustion engine platforms, with the electric powertrains shoehorned inside.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
The questions suggest that the commissioners want to see something better than what is offered at Portside Pier, where a second floor walkway was shoehorned into the project after its design, creating a sometimes-awkward experience for restaurant patrons and the public.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
The matches are shoehorned into the tournaments, often on outer courts and at odd times.
—Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorned
Verb
-
Dozens of men were crammed into a two-hundred-and-fifteen-square-foot cell; one of them lost twenty-four pounds while in custody.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
The venue was crammed with excitable 20- and 30-something women, among them Willa Bennett, the editor of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The body of a month-old boy found in a duffel bag stuffed in a closet inside his family’s apartment was in an advanced state of decomposition — and his mother told cops her son hadn’t been home for at least two weeks before being arrested for hiding his corpse, prosecutors said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
In 2005, the Herald reported that someone employed a toilet stuffed with trash to save their parking spot following a storm.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The best part of the orange — your orange, Chicago taxpayers — already has been squeezed for the most juice, likely explaining the sale.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Managers have become organizational shock absorbers, squeezed between executive decisions from above and team realities below.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
