as in cramming
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 shoehorning
No longer shoehorning into skates never made for her, the next version of someone else’s ideal.
—
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoehorning
Verb
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Each story unfolds at a rapid pace, bouncing between provocative shots of eccentric people and cramming two distinct sets of warring neighbors into each half-hour episode.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
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With the current contact period, during which coaches can visit recruits, ending Saturday and the following period not starting until mid-April, his team was busy booking charter flights and cramming seven days' worth of visits into four or five days.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The fall was aided by the cooling prices of gasoline, eggs, and beef, but rising costs for consumer goods like apparel, computers, and airfares suggest tariffs are still squeezing household budgets.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
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Instead, 2026 is about building both stylish and sensible outfits that can take you from the airport to the streets with maximum versatility without ever squeezing into tight, form-fitting fabric.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That’s hoovering up free cash flows and loading the companies with depreciating assets, radically altering many of the characteristics that have helped fuel the firms’ rise over the past decade.—
Bloomberg,
Oc Register,
16 Feb. 2026
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That’s hoovering up free cash flows and loading the companies with depreciating assets, radically altering many of the characteristics that have helped fuel the firms’ rise over the past decade.—
Jeran Wittenstein,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As Sundance became a global icon, part of its identity stemmed from wedging this gorilla of a festival into the birdcage of a tiny resort town.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
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The couple often kept the window closed by wedging a pole into the window track, records show, but knew that some of the children in the home had learned how to remove it the previous December.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoehorning. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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