auger
Americannoun
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Carpentry.
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a bit, as for a brace.
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a boring tool, similar to but larger than a gimlet, consisting of a bit rotated by a transverse handle.
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a device consisting of a shaft with a broad helical flange rotating within a cylindrical casing to force bulk materials from one end to the other.
noun
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a hand tool with a bit shaped like a corkscrew, for boring holes in wood
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a larger tool of the same kind for boring holes in the ground
Etymology
Origin of auger
before 900; Middle English nauger ( a nauger misdivided as an auger; cf. adder 1, apron), Old English nafogār nave-piercer (cognate with Old Norse nafarr, Old Saxon nabugēr, Middle Dutch navegeer, Old High German nabagēr ), equivalent to nafa nave + gār spear; cf. gore 3, garlic
Explanation
If you need to bore a hole in a block of ice, grab your auger. An auger is a hand tool with a long blade that looks sort of like a screw, which drills holes when turned. An auger is typically used to drill holes in material such as wood, soil, or ice. When you turn the auger, the blade digs into the material and slowly shaves away a thin layer, eventually creating a hole. Think of it as working like a drill — only you’re the one supplying the power. A special kind of auger made out of a long coil of wire can be used to clear clogs out of drains or pipe
Vocabulary lists containing auger
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
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"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
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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.
They pull out the auger and take a sample of the excavated dirt.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024
With every twist of the auger, he steadily underscores his will.
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024
A heavy drill machine, called an auger, which got damaged after hitting an obstacle on Friday, broke while being pulled out of the 47-meter pipe inserted to bring out the trapped workers.
From Reuters • Nov. 25, 2023
An American-made auger drill was flown in from across the country to drill through the debris, after excavators failed to clear the thick mound of soil and rock.
From BBC • Nov. 23, 2023
Baugi struck again with the auger, but the snake was gone, and he flung the drill from him angrily and heard it clatter on the rocks below.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
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.
