shoehorned; shoehorning; shoehorns
1
: to force to be included or admitted
shoehorned irrelevant arguments into his essay
2
: to force or compress into an insufficient space or period of time : squeeze
shoehorn the past, present, and future into about 500 pages—
Otis Port
Otis PortSynonyms
Examples of shoehorn in a Sentence
Verb
A parking garage has been shoehorned between the buildings.
She's trying to shoehorn a year's worth of classes into a single semester.
I don't know how they managed to shoehorn everyone into that little room.
Recent Examples on the WebAmy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2023
Marino honored Peninsula must-haves, like enormous walk-in dressing rooms with full sartorial knickknacks—who doesn’t need a shoehorn?
—Linda Laban, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2023
Kate Lindsay, Vulture, 1 May 2024
And that, Martin says, was a primary factor in Arkansas Rep changing its production model from staging a half-dozen shows during a September-June season to a concentrated summer season, shoehorning five productions into a June-September window.
—Eric E. Harrison, arkansasonline.com, 14 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shoehorn 
Noun
Other useful features include an interior mesh pocket, which can be used for storing accessories (socks, heel pads, shoehorns, etc.) and a top handle for easy transportation.
—Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2023
Marino honored Peninsula must-haves, like enormous walk-in dressing rooms with full sartorial knickknacks—who doesn’t need a shoehorn?
—Linda Laban, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2023
Verb
But on April 20, it was shoehorned into a larger package about foreign aid, which passed in the Senate on April 23 and is expected to be signed by President Biden.
—Kate Lindsay, Vulture, 1 May 2024
And that, Martin says, was a primary factor in Arkansas Rep changing its production model from staging a half-dozen shows during a September-June season to a concentrated summer season, shoehorning five productions into a June-September window.
—Eric E. Harrison, arkansasonline.com, 14 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shoehorn
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shoehorn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shoehorn
Cite this Entry
“Shoehorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoehorn. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.
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