shovel
Americannoun
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an implement consisting of a broad blade or scoop attached to a long handle, used for taking up, removing, or throwing loose matter, as earth, snow, or coal.
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any fairly large contrivance or machine with a broad blade or scoop for taking up or removing loose matter.
a steam shovel.
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a shovelful.
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Informal. shovel hat.
verb (used with object)
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to take up and cast or remove with a shovel.
to shovel coal.
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to gather up in large quantity roughly or carelessly with or as if with a shovel.
He shoveled food into his mouth.
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to dig or clear with or as if with a shovel.
to shovel a path through the snow.
verb (used without object)
noun
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an instrument for lifting or scooping loose material, such as earth, coal, etc, consisting of a curved blade or a scoop attached to a handle
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any machine or part resembling a shovel in action
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Also called: shovelful. the amount that can be contained in a shovel
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short for shovel hat
verb
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to lift (earth, etc) with a shovel
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(tr) to clear or dig (a path) with or as if with a shovel
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(tr) to gather, load, or unload in a hurried or careless way
he shovelled the food into his mouth and rushed away
Other Word Forms
- shoveller noun
- unshoveled adjective
- unshovelled adjective
Etymology
Origin of shovel
before 900; Middle English schovel, Old English scofl; cognate with Dutch schoffel hoe; akin to German Schaufel shovel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Miners were using picks, shovels and bare hands to unearth rocks rich with metal.
Kids are running up and down the wet sand chasing geese, while the younger ones seat themselves in the sand, buckets and shovels in hand.
From Literature
When I was 8 years old, I was shoveling sidewalks.
From MarketWatch
Kacher: We like businesses on the infrastructure side of the software industry—those that provide the picks and shovels and have business models that monetize usage rather than seats.
From Barron's
If you invest, buy companies supplying the picks and shovels and avoid the hole in the ground.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
