1
as in pushing
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
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2
as in pressing
to push steadily against with some force
quit shoving your hand in my face
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoving
Video showed officers in riot gear pushing forward as agitators crowded the street, leading to shoving and jostling during the nighttime confrontation.
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Michael Dorgan , Alexandra Koch , Bill Melugin , Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Lining up offsides or jumping before the snap or shoving someone who’s already out of bounds or pulling off someone’s helmet.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026
There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
In recent years, as robots have become increasingly sophisticated, their makers have gone from kicking them to shoving them, tripping them, and even hitting them with folding chairs.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Lark Street Music That technique involved the man shoving the mandolins inside his long coat before leaving.
—Nick Caloway, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
When an escaped Eleven finds her way to a diner (the image of a bald Brown in a hospital gown shoving fries into her mouth is indelible), Brenner’s team impersonates social services, kills the kind proprietor, but fails to apprehend her.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025
Metcalf was seen on camera shoving his closed fist upward toward the face of a Lions fan leaning over a railing during the first half of Pittsburgh's Week 16 victory Sunday.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
After shoving a shark up to the surface, the orcas rolled it onto its back.
—Ashley Balzer Vigil, Scientific American, 2 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoving
Verb
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Kennedy Botts with Sisters PGH, a nonprofit serving the Black transgender community, is pushing back on that argument.—
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Friends of the Everglades is pushing for 160 square miles of additional conservation land in the Everglades Agricultural Area, to create space for 1 million more acre-feet of water storage.—
Verb
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Disneyland will restart its 70th anniversary celebration with a new menu lineup designed to tempt foodies and keep them coming back for more after pressing pause on the yearlong party during the Halloween and Christmas seasons.—
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The bottom line With home equity loan rates low, average home equity amounts high and the need for extra financing at the start of the year pressing, homeowners could be well-served by exploring their home equity loan options now.—
Verb
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Take extra caution when on the road or avoid driving if possible.—
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According to investigators, the man was driving a Chevrolet Silverado northbound on Kilgore Road when the truck left the roadway, entered a ditch and overturned.—
Verb
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Outside the dome, a series of machines connected by undulating pipes moves the CO2 out of the dome for compressing and condensing.—
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Always, understanding comes from pinpointing the relevant factors and forgetting the rest, from compressing nature’s endless intricacies into a human-readable story about the universe.—
Verb
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Another professional sports team is coming to the Kansas City metro, on the Kansas side, thrusting the city into the professional women’s softball scene for the first time.—
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Marner’s exit to Vegas this past summer also had the effect of thrusting Nylander into an even brighter place in the Toronto spotlight.—
Cite this Entry
“Shoving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoving. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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