shove

¹

[ shuhv ]

verb (used with object)

, shoved, shov·ing.

1. to move along by force from behind; push:

   Could you help me shove this table back to where it was?

2. to push roughly or rudely; jostle:

   Hey, quit shoving us—you can wait your turn like everyone else.

3. Slang: Often Vulgar. to go to hell with:

   Voters are telling Congress to shove its new tax plan.

verb (used without object)

, shoved, shov·ing.

1. to push:

   OK, all hands on the back of this crate, and on the count of three, shove!

2. 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

1. an act or instance of shoving:

   I gave it a couple of good shoves, but it barely budged.

verb phrase

1. 1. to push a boat from the shore:

      It’s been fun on the beach, but we’d better shove off before the tide goes out any more and grounds our propeller.

   2. Informal. to go away; depart:

      I think I'll be shoving off now.

shove

²

[ shohv ]

noun

1. boon ³.

shove

/ ʃʌv /

verb

1. to give a thrust or push to (a person or thing)
2. tr to give a violent push to; jostle
3. intr to push one's way roughly
4. informal.
   tr to put (something) somewhere, esp hurriedly or carelessly

   shove it in the bin

noun

1. the act or an instance of shoving

Derived Forms

• ˈshover, noun

Other Words From

• shov·er noun
• un·shoved adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shove¹

Old English scūfan; related to Old Norse skūfa to push, Gothic afskiuban to push away, Old High German skioban to shove

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. shove it up your / one's ass, Slang: Vulgar. go to hell: a term of contempt, abuse, disagreement, or the like. Also stick it up yourone's ass.
2. shove it, Slang: Often Vulgar. (used to express contempt or belligerence): Also stick it.

   I told them to take the job and shove it.

3. when / if push comes to shove. push ( def 37 ).

More idioms and phrases containing shove

see push comes to shove ; push (shove) off ; ram (shove) down someone's throat ; stick (shove) it .

Example Sentences

I was filled with pride every time a fried egg slid out on its own, with no shove from a spatula.

From Outside Online

With an open door and a gentle shove, the crate falls into the sky from a cargo transport.

From Popular-Science

For example, if you balance a bicycle with your hand and then give it a shove, it will roll upright for a surprising length of time, even re-balancing itself to some degree, before it slows and topples over.

From Outside Online

She left her marriage when alcohol-fueled threats from her then-husband began to turn into shoves.

From Washington Post

Humphrey was knocked to the turf, looking for a penalty to be called on Brown for a shove and offensive pass interference.

From Washington Post

These big, set-piece events shove the royalty in their face.

From The Daily Beast

The four of them move to the boat, right it, balance the mattress across its bow and shove it towards the water.

From The Daily Beast

The era of singers telling loser boyfriends to shove off and demanding more from men was over.

From The Daily Beast

When push comes to shove, the pressure of staving off Ghana, Portugal, and Germany fell on Howard.

From The Daily Beast

He tries to shove his relationship with Amia into a box and that box explodes in his face.

From The Daily Beast

Had he not meant the Fleet to shove in K. must have made some reference to the second Division, surely.

From Project Gutenberg

He lifted the other cadet as high as he could and with a shove sent him rolling on the ice beyond.

From Project Gutenberg

Black Hood kicked his legs over the rail, reversing his position, gave himself a shove with his hands.

From Project Gutenberg

Near the coast line the effect of the waves is continually to shove the detritus up the slopes of the continental shelf.

From Project Gutenberg

No assistant editor would dare to shove that into a paper on his own responsibility.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cram
• dig
• elbow
• hustle
• jab
• nudge
• poke
• thrust