plow

American  

[plou] / plaʊ /

especially British, plough

noun

1. an agricultural implement used for cutting, lifting, turning over, and partly pulverizing soil.

2. any of various implements resembling or suggesting this, as a kind of plane for cutting grooves or a contrivance for clearing away snow from a road or track.

3. Type Founding. (formerly) an instrument for cutting the groove in the foot of type.

4. Bookbinding. a device for trimming the edges of the leaves by hand.

5. (initial capital letter)

   1. the constellation Ursa Major.

   2. the Big Dipper.

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verb (used with object)

plows, present (3rd person singular) plowed, past participle, past plowing present participle

1. to turn up (soil) with a plow.

2. to make (a furrow) with a plow.

3. to tear up, cut into, or make a furrow, groove, etc. in (a surface) with or as if with a plow (often followed byup ).

   The tractor plowed up an acre of trees.

4. to clear by the use of a plow, especially a snowplow (sometimes followed byout ).

   The city's work crews were busily plowing the streets after the blizzard.

5. to invest, as capital (often followed byinto ).

   to plow several hundred million into developing new oil fields.

6. to reinvest or reutilize (usually followed byback ).

   to plow profits back into new plants and equipment.

7. (of a ship, boat, animal, etc.)

   1. to cleave the surface of (the water).

      beavers plowing the pond.

   2. to make (a way) or follow (a course) in this manner.

      The yacht plowed an easterly course through the choppy Atlantic.

8. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

plows, present (3rd person singular) plowed, past participle, past plowing present participle

1. to till the soil or work with a plow.

2. to take plowing in a specified way.

   land that plows easily.

3. to move forcefully through something in the manner of a plow (often followed by through, into, along, etc.).

   The cop plowed through the crowd, chasing after the thief. The car plowed into our house.

4. to proceed in a slow, laborious, and steady manner (often followed bythrough ).

   The researcher plowed through a pile of reports.

5. to move through water by cleaving the surface.

   a ship plowing through a turbulent sea.

verb phrase

1. plow under

   1. to bury under soil by plowing.

   2. to cause to disappear; force out of existence; overwhelm.

      Many mom-and-pop groceries have been plowed under by the big chain stores.

plow British  

/ plaʊ /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of plough

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unplowable
  adjective
• plowability
  noun
• well-plowed
  adjective
• subplow
  noun
• plowable
  adjective
• subplow
  verb
• replow
  verb (used with object)
• unplowed
  adjective
• plower
  noun
• overplow
  verb

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have plowed
  perfect
• has plowed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am plowing
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been plowing
  perfect progressive
• are plowing
  progressive
• plows
  singular 3rd person
• is plowing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been plowing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• plowing
  participle

Past

• had plowed
  perfect
• was plowing
  progressive singular
• were plowing
  progressive plural
• had been plowing
  perfect progressive
• plowed
  participle
• plowed
  simple

Future

• will plow
  simple
• will have plowed
  perfect
• will have been plowing
  perfect progressive
• will be plowing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of plow

before 1100; Middle English plouh, plugh ( e ), plough ( e ), Old English plōh; cognate with German Pflug plow

Explanation

A plow is a large tool used for farming. A farmer drives or pulls a plow across a field to prepare it for planting. The large blades of a plow break up the earth, cutting and turning it so it's loose and ready to be planted with seeds. When you operate a plow, you can say that you plow. Boats can plow through water, too — in fact, anything that moves forcibly forward also plows: a car plows through traffic, and figuratively, a student plows through her homework.

Example Sentences

Complicité’s latest show is a suitably idiosyncratic treatment of “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead,” the surreal eco-thriller by the Polish author and Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2023

Plow that money into education, I said, and housing for those who are locked out of this market.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2022

Plowie McPlow Plow is based in west Spokane and covers west Interstate 90 to the Fishtrap interchange.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 14, 2022

Plow driver Michael D’Andrea got a firsthand look at the mess on the roads.

From Fox News • Jan. 7, 2022

He wore a Hickory Shirt, a discouraged Straw Hat, a pair of Barn-Door Pants clinging to one lonely Gallus and woolen Socks that had settled down over his Plow Shoes.

From Fables in Slang by Newman, Clyde J.

Related Words

• bulldoze
• cultivate
• rake
• reap
• shove
• smash