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Synonyms

shoehorn

American  
[shoo-hawrn] / ˈʃuˌhɔrn /

noun

  1. a shaped piece of horn, metal, or the like, inserted in the heel of a shoe to make it slip on more easily.

verb (used with object)

  1. to force into a limited or tight space.

    Can you shoehorn four of us into the back seat of your car?
shoehorn British  
/ ˈʃuːˌhɔːn /

noun

  1. a smooth curved implement of horn, metal, plastic, etc, inserted at the heel of a shoe to ease the foot into it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to cram (people or things) into a very small space

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of shoehorn

First recorded in 1580–90; shoe + horn

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.