shove 1 of 2

verb

ˈshəv How to pronounce shove (audio)
Definition of shovenext
1
as in to push
to apply force to (someone or something) so that it moves in front of one I had to keep shoving my heavy suitcase as I slowly made my way to the head of the line

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to press
to push steadily against with some force quit shoving your hand in my face

Synonyms & Similar Words

shove

2 of 2

noun

as in push

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shove
Verb
In third grade, bullies pulled her hair and shoved her into a bathroom stall, breaking two of her fingers. — Nancy Jo Sales, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 Glaze then turned to Franklin and appeared to shove the Bills player’s helmet. — Chantz Martin Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
Bonnell claims more than 80 mph at the top end, while the enormous rear-wheel torque figure promises the sort of low-speed shove that makes technical riding interesting. — New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026 The ask is a physical edge where a distracted step, a shove or a stumble doesn’t end in a 911 call and a dive team. — Joseph V. Sakran, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shove
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shove
  1. push
  2. press
  3. drive
  4. compress
  5. thrust
Verb
  • Rather than chasing fancy titles or splashy paychecks throughout her career, she’s gravitated toward jobs that pushed her out of her comfort zone, forced her to take risks, and taught her to embrace a little chaos.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Meta Platforms, which is pushing its Muse AI agent, lost 7% after reporting stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit fell short.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of push
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with a broad military operation in the occupied West Bank in response to an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three in the city of Hebron on Friday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • There was the woman on the sixth floor, who often forgot her keys and would press our buzzer to get Dad to go out and open the door for her.
    — Souvankham Thammavongsa, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of press
Verb
  • Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie whose go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win in Game 2, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • In recent years, General Motors has consistently sought to demonstrate that its investments in autonomous driving systems and software services can yield high margin revenue and open new growth frontiers.
    — , CNBC, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of drive
Verb
  • By adjusting the distance between the tips, the team could stretch or compress the molecular structure, changing the voltage at which the current enhancement began.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • For everyday document management, AcePDF can merge or split files, rotate or delete pages, compress large PDFs, and extract images.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of compress
Verb
  • Ohio Ohio's governor's race was thrust into the national spotlight this week after Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign released an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democrat opponent Amy Acton.
    — Chantelle Lee, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Russell adds a 30 Rock–esque backstage frame in which an assistant stage manager (Twiggy, looking divine) is thrust into the spotlight when the star of her regional playhouse’s production of The Boy Friend is nowhere to be found.
    — Juan A. Ramírez, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of thrust

Phrases Containing shove

Browse Nearby Words

shouts
shove
shoved
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shove.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shove. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All