shove

/ʃʌv/

//ʃʌv// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shove" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shove” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,965 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#11,965
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To push, especially roughly or with force.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shove vs soe
60% similar
shove vs sov
60% similar
shove vs some
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shove
PropertyValue
Headwordshove
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ʃʌv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,965
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shove” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). shove lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for shove is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʃʌv/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,965 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for shove, with forms such as "hsove", "shhove", and "shoev". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "soe", "sov", "some", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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, Da… The correct English form is shove, spelled S-H-O-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To push, especially roughly or with force.
  2. 2
    To move off or along by an act of pushing, as with an oar or pole used in a boat; sometimes with off.
  3. 3
    To make an all-in bet.
  4. 4
    To pass (counterfeit money).
  5. 5
    To put hurriedly

Etymology

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”).

This word in other languages

empujar(Español)bousculer(Français)schubsen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hsove,shhove,shoev,shovve,shvoe,sohve,sshove

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shove - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hsove2shhove1shoev2shovve1shvoe2sohve2sshove1
Edit distance from "shove"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shove"?
"shove" is spelled S-H-O-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃʌv/.
What does "shove" mean?
As a verb, "shove" means: To push, especially roughly or with force.
What words are commonly confused with "shove"?
"shove" is commonly confused with "soe", "sov", "some". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shove"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shove" is /ʃʌv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shove"?
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 sc... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “shove”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-H-O-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ʃʌv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “soe” - see the side-by-side comparison. shove vs soe
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list