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
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
-
Boxes from the White House, some containing classified material, had been found crammed into a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago, next to a toilet and below a crystal chandelier.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
-
Guests at the memorial service — including Stephen Jones, Caroline Rush, Erdem Moralıoğlu, Nicole Farhi, Sam McKnight and Jonathan Newhouse — crammed onto benches in the venue, while others, including Daphne Guinness and Yasmin Sewell, stood in the aisles.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Moments later, the security cameras captured the suspects rushing out Avetyan's door with pillowcases stuffed with jewelry, handbags and family heirlooms, such as her grandfather's watch.—
Jasmine Viel,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
-
Plant life may manifest at your table scorched, deep-fried, pickled, smoked, stuffed, smashed or otherwise pushed to extremes.—
Ligaya Mishan,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Dwight reached out and squeezed my upper arm, pulling me into a bear hug, smashing my face against the rough canvas of his jacket, his gloved hand on my ass pulling me closer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
-
Patrick Mahomes’ torn right ACL and LCL prevented a late-season surge that might have squeezed KC into the postseason and another fateful meeting.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorned. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
