shove
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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shoves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shoved,
past participle, past
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shoving
present participle
-
to move along by force from behind; push.
Could you help me shove this table back to where it was?
-
to push roughly or rudely; jostle.
Hey, quit shoving us—you can wait your turn like everyone else.
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Slang: Often Vulgar. to go to hell with.
Voters are telling Congress to shove its new tax plan.
verb (used without object)
-
shoves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shoved,
past participle, past
-
shoving
present participle
-
to push.
OK, all hands on the back of this crate, and on the count of three, shove!
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Baseball. to pitch with exceptional focus and effectiveness.
This young closer is spoiling us—we assume he’ll walk out to the mound and shove, and that’s exactly what he does.
noun
verb phrase
idioms
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shove it, (used to express contempt or belligerence): Also stick it
I told them to take the job and shove it.
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when / if push comes to shove. push.
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shove it up your / one's ass, go to hell: a term of contempt, abuse, disagreement, or the like. Also stick it up yourone's ass
noun
verb
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to give a thrust or push to (a person or thing)
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(tr) to give a violent push to; jostle
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(intr) to push one's way roughly
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informal (tr) to put (something) somewhere, esp hurriedly or carelessly
shove it in the bin
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shovesimple
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shovessimple
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have shovedperfect
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has shovedperfect
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am shovingprogressive
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are shovingprogressive
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is shovingprogressive
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have been shovingperfect progressive
-
has been shovingperfect progressive
Past
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shovedsimple
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had shovedperfect
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was shovingprogressive
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were shovingprogressive
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had been shovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shove1
First recorded before 900; (for the verb) Middle English shouven, shuven, Old English scēofan, scūfan; cognate with Dutch schuiven, obsolete German schauben, Old Norse skūfa; akin to Gothic -skiuban; noun derivative of the verb
Origin of shove2
First recorded in 1680–90; apparently variant of shive 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
On First Light, however, Ms. Brauer has to unstrap, shove across and resecure heavy packages before she can risk the same exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
“When push comes to shove, I’m very often very comfortable with making decisions that don’t make financial sense,” Lake said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
It added that going home early is called an "early shove" in the aviation industry and is considered an informal perk for staff, sometimes offered after especially taxing shifts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
When push came to shove, the human with the archive was always right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
For the second time, I felt as if I wanted to shove this conversation aside somehow, wreck it.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
Instead, Iñárritu shoves in a limp subplot about a missing daughter to humanize him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
They said the agency at the time opted against tough discipline for controllers, in part because managers condoned the early shoves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
And another AI video on X depicts the pair running together through a city engulfed in flames before the female executive shoves him aside in a dramatic scene.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
Soon enough, it shoves out the old way of doing things entirely, leaving us with no living, breathing person left to hear our frustrations.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
Amazingly, Ryder shoves his head beneath my hand.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
On a play that was whistled dead because of a neutral zone infraction, Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson appeared to be shoved into referee Adrian Hill, who was knocked to the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Yaniv Hayun, a passenger, said in a video shared by Israel’s public broadcaster that he and another man found the door was unlocked but blocked by the fallen pilot, so they shoved it open.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Why is that a favored constitutional provision while this stuff all gets shoved to the side?
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
"I don't have, as unbelievable as it is as mayor of this region, any power to fix this problem, but it doesn't mean I haven't shoved my nose in," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
I shoved my hands into my hair and pulled it in frustration as I whirled on Regan.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
“I’d never played a game like that with as many cheap shots and people shoving you in the back” forward Bradley Barcola said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Video footage showed mourners pushing and shoving each other to get close to the casket as it was carried by hand through the mausoleum's halls.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Another person who recently left the company told the BBC the tracking tool was "just the latest way they're shoving AI down everyone's throat".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
In New York, the opening of the Swatch store in Times Square was met with "pushing and shoving" in the waiting crowd, John McIntosh, who had been in line since Wednesday, told AFP.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
I quickly text Mom that I’m going for a walk before turning it off and shoving it to the bottom of my pocket.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
