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.

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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

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verb

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

Etymology

Origin of shoehorn

First recorded in 1580–90; shoe + horn

Example Sentences

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

I'm a big Marcus Smith fan but there is no room to shoehorn people in at international level.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 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

But longtime “Wicked” fans will notice that the movie doesn’t drastically shoehorn any part of the narrative.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024

I looked at myself in his metal shoehorn.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

Related Words

• embed
• enter
• fill in
• imbed
• implant
• include
• inject
• introduce
• stick