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 solar sector has been grappling with a prolonged price slump and oversupply, squeezing margins even as leading producers continue to add capacity.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
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For generations, Americans who wanted orange juice without the work of squeezing fresh fruit cracked open a can and watched a cylinder of frozen juice go ker-plunk into a pitcher.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Castle logged 22 minutes against the Mavs, loading the box score with 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Antonio Express-News,
6 Feb. 2026
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And the two front-runners are loading up.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
5 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 14 Feb. 2026.
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