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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorned
Verb
-
In 2010, police discovered a body in the wine cellar, crammed into a hole.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The result is a stellar remnant with a mass between one and two times the mass of the sun, filled with neutron-rich matter crammed into a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers).—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The fusion comes in dishes like the ramen-rito, a flour tortilla stuffed with ramen noodles, protein, guac, chili oil and cabbage.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Feb. 2026
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The Wild goalie stuffed McDavid’s shot and got a stoppage.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
European automakers face a volatile year, squeezed by weak markets, a lack of profitability, uncertain European emissions regulations, and pressure for restructuring and mergers, while rushing to electrify and defend against burgeoning Chinese competition.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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On a typical day, Troy would have been getting ready to go to sleep on one of the two sets of bunk beds that had been squeezed into the kids’ bedroom at home.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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