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.

He had been shoveling snow at his mother’s house when he felt his back go out.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2016

All day long, he had been shoveling snow in the streets.

From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl

Some of the drifts were higher than a man, but the stewards had been shoveling all day and the paths were as clean as they were like to get.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

After a night scrambling around the hills, Tom looked as if he had been shoveling coal.

From The Space Pioneers by Glanzman, Louis

He was still clad in blue jean freely smeared with the red soil that he had been shoveling in the hold, and his face and hands were grimy and damp with perspiration.

From Thrice Armed by Bindloss, Harold