backhoe

Or back-hoe,

[bak-hoh]

noun

1. a hydraulic excavating machine consisting of a tractor having an attached hinged boom, with a bucket with movable jaws on the end of the boom.

Word History and Origins

Origin of backhoe¹

First recorded in 1940–45; back ¹ + hoe

Example Sentences

On Friday, as the backhoe put the remnants of that life into a dumpster, Andres Reyes sat across the street on the steps of an apartment building.

From Los Angeles Times

We passed by a checkpoint manned by the National Guard and the LAPD, then had to stop for 20 minutes on a narrow hillside road as a backhoe was unloaded from a flatbed truck.

From Los Angeles Times

On a recent Sunday, huge tractors, backhoes and trucks blazed down a two-lane country highway, blaring their horns on their way to a “Farmers for Trump” rally near Hilmar.

From Los Angeles Times

A few days later, detectives found the stolen backhoe at a truck stop in Tulare.

From Los Angeles Times

Wiggins, though, declined to estimate when water would be flowing again, even as backhoes continued digging in a hole behind him.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bulldozer 
• digger