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
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Recent Examples of shoehorned
Learning cannot be condensed into an accelerated course, shoehorned into a semester calendar, rushed and prodded along.
—
Peter Wayne Moe, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2026
Since then, these standalone console titles have mostly disappeared, been shoehorned into an Ultimate Team mode or moved to mobile.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 14 Mar. 2026
That bill was watered down, however, and eventually got shoehorned into the one that passed Friday.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Kevin isn’t any more random or inexplicably shoehorned into the story than Irene or Glem.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026
In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Peter Wayne Moe, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2026
Since then, these standalone console titles have mostly disappeared, been shoehorned into an Ultimate Team mode or moved to mobile.
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 14 Mar. 2026
That bill was watered down, however, and eventually got shoehorned into the one that passed Friday.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Kevin isn’t any more random or inexplicably shoehorned into the story than Irene or Glem.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 20 Feb. 2026
In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorned
Verb
-
The stuffing, Certipur-US and Greenguard Gold-certified for safety, is cross-cut to prevent lumps and clumps, keeping the pillow smooth, airy, and puffy, despite being crammed into hiking packs and suitcases.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Juwelier Tschikof is a narrow shopfront crammed next to a boutique selling stationery, opposite a tobacconist.—
Simon Akam,
Vanity Fair,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Once a month, Brian Emerick makes the trip from the Chicago suburbs to Jacobs' house in the city to pick up 10 or 20 boxes each stuffed with 50 or 100 tapes.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
In 2012, when John Calipari stuffed his roster with one-and-done pros, everyone assumed that his was the new path to instant success.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As a result, many consumers are feeling squeezed.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
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The only family in his murals was the one squeezed atop the lintel.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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