Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

hoe

1 American  
[hoh] / hoʊ /

noun

  1. a long-handled implement having a thin, flat blade usually set transversely, used to break up the surface of the ground, destroy weeds, etc.

  2. any of various implements of similar form, as for mixing plaster or mortar.

verb (used with object)

hoed, hoeing

  1. to dig, scrape, weed, cultivate, etc., with a hoe.

verb (used without object)

hoed, hoeing

  1. to use a hoe.

Hoe 2 American  
[hoh] / hoʊ /

noun

  1. Richard, 1812–86, U.S. inventor and manufacturer of printing-press equipment.

  2. his father Robert, 1784–1833, U.S. manufacturer of printing presses.

hoe British  
/ həʊ /

noun

  1. any of several kinds of long-handled hand implement equipped with a light blade and used to till the soil, eradicate weeds, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to dig, scrape, weed, or till (surface soil) with or as if with a hoe

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hoe Idioms  

  1. see tough row to hoe.

Other Word Forms

  • hoelike adjective
  • hoer noun
  • unhoed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hoe

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English howe, from Old French houe, from Germanic; compare Middle Dutch houwe, Old High German houwa “mattock”; akin to hew

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.

Because of TV streaming platforms and other factors, he said, "in my take of things, it's going to be a very rough road to hoe now."

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

Family, activists and observers displayed a five-foot-long hula hoe, a type of gardening tool that has a metal D-shaped fixture on the end for digging into dirt, that Gainer held when he was shot.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024

"This will be a hard row to hoe, given that this same jury is daily receiving new evidence that the defendant, outside the courtroom, continues to spread the lie undeterred," Ms Jones said.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2024

I got the transcripts from the hearings and basically they said "This will kill jobs. This will destroy agriculture, if you create a long-handled hoe."

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2023

But time wore on, and as the dirt mingled with the sweat on my body, I felt strangely comforted by the chunk, chunk, chunk of the hoe digging into the ground.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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.