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shove

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈʃəv// UK //ʃˈʌv// shove Archaic Slang

v. to push someone or something roughly or with a lot of force. You often do this when you are in a hurry or angry.

v. to push someone or something roughly, forcefully, or in a careless manner. Often implies a lack of courtesy or a sudden, vigorous movement.


SIMPLE

He had to shove his way through the crowded train station.

CONTEXTUAL

The protesters began to shove against the metal barriers as the police moved closer to the line.

COMPLEX

In the frantic rush to board the last ferry, passengers began to shove one another, ignoring the crew's repeated calls for an orderly queue.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English schoven, shoven, schouven, from Old English sċūfan, from Proto-West Germanic skeuban, from Proto-Germanic skeubaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-. See also West Frisian skowe, Low German schuven, Dutch schuiven, German schieben, Danish skubbe, Norwegian Bokmål skyve, Norwegian Nynorsk skuva; also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”).

Usage

The verb is transitive and typically takes a direct object; it can also be used intransitively with 'through' or 'past'.

Pitfall

He shoved to meHe shoved meShove is a transitive verb and takes a direct object without a preposition when describing the person being pushed.

Idioms4 entries

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