shove
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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shoves,
present (3rd person singular)
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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?
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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)
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shoves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shoved,
past participle, past
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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
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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:
Thousands of football fans attempted to shove their way into Mexico City's official World Cup fan zone on Thursday, creating chaotic scenes shortly before kick-off in the opening game.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
After the shove, the video shows Niemi and his group walk briskly down the stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard that is home to a number of nightclubs and bars.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
And because of their size, "you can shove them into your bag really easily", Keilly says.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
“I guess this is another place for somebody to shove an ad in your face,” said the 47-year-old Yoder, recalling the first time he noticed one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
I shove the uncomfortable memory into a tiny box.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
"Paraguay tried to wind up the France players, little shoves and nudges but not enough to get a yellow card," former Scotland winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 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
Since we came for the shock value, the camera shoves our faces in its guts, bellowing to eat up.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024
For all the eloquent monologues, it sometimes feels as though Lipstein shoves Herschel into scenes that don’t feel natural.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
From the front seat somebody shoves envelopes at me and the others.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
"They can't be shoved to the back and forgot about. We'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The strategists also pointed out that investor rotation into other sectors has lifted growth prospects and valuations of many “old economy” industries, long shoved aside by investors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The man who shoved Kelver and who allegedly initiated the confrontation, known only as “S. Durham,” has not been charged.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
Season after season, the club that won style points and little else ventured back into Europe, only to be shoved around by a giant or trip over itself in a pratfall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
The miller shoved Opal back as she rushed forward.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
“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
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
Some of the recent videos show the runners bumping into security guards and shoving past church staff, then leaving after being cornered and told to get off the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Left with no idea how to wrap itself up, “Undertone” throws every one of those horror tropes under a hydraulic press, shoving them together, hoping that the result will be prettier than just polished garbage.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
Her blonde hair is woven into a French braid and she’s shoving gold studs into her ears.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
