shoehorn
Americannoun
-
shoehorns
plural
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shoehorn
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:
It is hard to shoehorn this spectacle of mass-integration, this enforced loss of crowns and kingdoms, into the idea of partition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
“We didn’t want to shoehorn the songs into the story,” he said, nodding in appreciation at Read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025
"These subjects are not the easiest to shoehorn into a three-and-a-half minute song," says Lorde.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2025
Scott, as usual, also needs to shoehorn meaning that he doesn't know how to produce and erase history that he doesn't know how to replace.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2024
"That guy David from Rahway? He ever killed anybody with that shoehorn?"
From "Miracle's Boys" by Jacqueline Woodson
Anthropic's advertisement broadcast during last week's Super Bowl showed a man asking advice from a conversational AI, which then shoehorns advertising copy for a dating site into its otherwise relevant response.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
The show, unfortunately, shoehorns in too many songs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
It is a shame the film shoehorns so much of the book into two hours.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2022
Luckily, I had recently purchased two of your quality shoehorns and was able to finish the exam without missing a beat.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
But Montross’s typically formidable narrative skills sometimes go awry, most notably when she shoehorns herself and her family into the story.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2020
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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.
