shoehorn
noun
shoe·horn
| \ ˈshü-ˌhȯrn
\
\
Definition of shoehorn
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a curved piece (as of horn, wood, or metal) used in putting on a shoe
shoehorn
verb
shoehorned;
shoehorning;
shoehorns
Definition of shoehorn (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to force to be included or admitted
shoehorned irrelevant arguments into his essay
2
: to force or compress into an insufficient space or period of time : squeeze
shoehorn the past, present, and future into about 500 pages— Otis Port
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Synonyms for shoehorn
Synonyms: Verb
cram, crowd, crush, jam, ram, sandwich, squeeze, stuff, wedge
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Examples of shoehorn in a Sentence
Verb
A parking garage has been shoehorned between the buildings. She's trying to shoehorn a year's worth of classes into a single semester. I don't know how they managed to shoehorn everyone into that little room.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
But the weapons in our bedroom were limited to a shoehorn, a flattening iron and a stack of hardcover books. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "I thought I was alone in the house, then I heard a bump. Or did I?," 1 July 2018 But this documentary feature is fascinating and infuriating in unequal parts, the latter far outweighing the former, since Mr. Jarecki’s instrument is a shoehorn. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘The King’ Review: A Documentary That’s All Shook Up," 28 June 2018 In the closet was a cane-size shoehorn topped with a silver dog’s head, Tom Wolfe-style. — Anthony Flint, BostonGlobe.com, "In the lap of luxury in Lenox, at the reborn Blantyre," 6 June 2018 Students used shoehorns and grapefruit knives to detach screens and squirm out windows, or stumbled out a basement exit into the stabbing cold. — New York Times, "Never Solved, a College Dorm Fire Has Become One Man’s Obsession," 13 Apr. 2018 But what makes this shoehorn special is its length—30 inches—which allows its 6-foot 3-inch owner to put on the snuggest of loafers without sitting or bending down. — Clifton Leaf, Fortune, "The Quest for Intuitive Design," 22 Dec. 2017 In between, the show shoehorns social media into as many segments as possible, with sometimes-cringeworthy results. — Maeve Mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Here's why MTV's 'TRL' reboot is totally, really lame," 11 Oct. 2017 The Polynesian-themed bash shoehorns tropical drinks, Tiki art, surf rock, go-go dancers and an assorted of things for sale into one flea market. — John Petkovic, cleveland.com, "Tiki Underground bar and restaurant to host Tu Tiki flea market (photos)," 14 July 2017 An image or phrase finds you, pleases you with its wit or vividness, shoehorns open your evolving vision of the fictive world, and before that change gets fully processed, here comes another. — George Saunders, The New Yorker, "Grace Paley, the Saint of Seeing," 3 Mar. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
There’s enough room to place switches and buttons intuitively rather than shoehorned into random spaces. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Honda Passport: off-road ready, city-smart," 11 Aug. 2019 Between second jobs, child-care hours, and other complications, there’s only so much extra time that can be shoehorned into already tight daily schedules. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "The T makes it harder to run a business in Boston," 2 July 2019 The most significant of these came in 2008 when the machinations of then-president, Robert Koncharian, to shoehorn his ally Serzh Sargsyan into power led to mass marches and, later, the death of eight protestors. — Tom Ball, The New Republic, "How to Stage a Successful Revolution," 1 July 2019 Aimee Spinks In the final episode, to shoehorn in the action shots, the romance between Murtagh and Jocasta, and a cliffhanger ending, the writers decided to eliminate one of the most important scenes in the book. — Outlander Fan, Marie Claire, "How Outlander Season 4 Is Different From Outlander, Book 4, 'Drums Of Autumn'," 29 Jan. 2019 There’s that same desperation to force connections where none were necessary, to make the world smaller by creating new characters, then shoehorning them into the previously existing lore. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the franchise’s Attack of the Clones when it should be The Last Jedi," 27 Nov. 2018 Does that mean everyone should shoehorn LSD into their morning cereal? — Sean Illing, Vox, "How meditation and psychedelic drugs could reduce political partisanship," 17 Oct. 2018 Sure, the writers shoehorned in a subplot about Monica making Mocklate—a fake chocolate—for a job, but this episode was really about Ross and Rachel following their first kiss. — Phoebe Robinson, Glamour, "Friends Thanksgiving Episodes Guide: List of the Best and Worst," 21 Nov. 2018 Instead, the committee shoehorned senators, witnesses, the press and 20 members of the public into a bandbox room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "Dramatic testimony from Kavanaugh, Ford included outrage, emotion, history," 27 Sep. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shoehorn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for shoehorn
shoehorn
noun
English Language Learners Definition of shoehorn
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a curved device that you use to slide the heel of your foot into a shoe
shoehorn
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of shoehorn (Entry 2 of 2)
: to force (something or someone) into a small space, a short period of time, etc.
See the full definition for shoehorn in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shoehorn
noun
shoe·horn
| \ ˈshü-ˌhȯrn
\
\
Kids Definition of shoehorn
: a curved piece (as of metal) to help in sliding the heel of the foot into a shoe