shove
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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.
The calming locales both complement and contradict the plot’s revelations, which are hardly bombshells but do speak to how well-to-do families labor to shove inconvenient skeletons into the closet.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
This year, we have not one, but two, songs that declare: "Take your job and shove it".
From BBC • May 8, 2026
The Stolz family had a pond in their backyard in Kewaskum, Wisc., and Dirk hooked a plow to his ATV to shove snow off of the frozen surface.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Just as roadkill summons vultures, so too does human misery summon journalists, who travel across the country to shove cameras and recorders at people enduring things no one should experience.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026
While my clothes dried, Ida fed me as much food as I could shove into my mouth, which was a lot.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
