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
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
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
They were adapted from existing internal combustion engine platforms, with the electric powertrains shoehorned inside.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
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
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
They were adapted from existing internal combustion engine platforms, with the electric powertrains shoehorned inside.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorned
Verb
-
On Tuesday night at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in south Fort Worth, more than 5,000 crammed into the gym to watch North Crowley defeat Duncanville 52-49 in a Class 6A boys state basketball semifinal.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
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Parents, students urge end to strikes Many parents, concerned about the wellbeing of their children, and students, tired of being crammed into gyms and overcrowded classrooms, are calling on Twin Rivers leaders to meet the union’s demands.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the nice things about a Crosstrek Hybrid is how much technology Subaru stuffed into this compact SUV.—
Tony Leopardo,
Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2026
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Eggs, Eggs, And More Eggs Eggs dyed in every shade of the rainbow are a given, of course, as are plastic eggs stuffed with jelly beans and tucked in every corner of the yard, but that’s hardly unique to the South.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When residents are this squeezed, City Hall’s predictable response has been to charge us more.—
Bradley Schnell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
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The 2012 draft brought a decent linebacker in Olivier Vernon and squeezed one 1,00-yard season from running back Lamar Miller.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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