hoe
noun
a long-handled implement having a thin, flat blade usually set transversely, used to break up the surface of the ground, destroy weeds, etc.
Showing results for "hoe"
- a variation of ho.
hoe
1 American
[hoh]
/ hoʊ /
noun
-
hoes
plural
-
a long-handled implement having a thin, flat blade usually set transversely, used to break up the surface of the ground, destroy weeds, etc.
-
any of various implements of similar form, as for mixing plaster or mortar.
verb (used with object)
-
hoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hoed,
past participle, past
-
hoeing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
hoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hoed,
past participle, past
-
hoeing
present participle
Hoe
2
American
[hoh]
/ hoʊ /
noun
-
Richard, 1812–86, U.S. inventor and manufacturer of printing-press equipment.
-
his father Robert, 1784–1833, U.S. manufacturer of printing presses.
hoe
British
/ həʊ /
noun
verb
hoe
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hoesimple
-
hoessimple
-
have hoedperfect
-
has hoedperfect
-
am hoeingprogressive
-
are hoeingprogressive
-
is hoeingprogressive
-
have been hoeingperfect progressive
-
has been hoeingperfect progressive
Past
-
hoedsimple
-
had hoedperfect
-
was hoeingprogressive
-
were hoeingprogressive
-
had been hoeingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
A hoe is a gardening tool made up of a long handle with a sharp metal blade at the end, used to stab the ground and loosen it. Hoe can be a noun or a verb, so you can use your hoe to remove weeds from a lawn, or you can hoe your garden and make it ready to plant. The word shares the same root as hew, which is a verb that means "to strike, chop, or cut." The “oe” seems tricky, but remember that it never changes, and even if you’re hoeing with three hoes in grass you hoed yesterday, the hoe stays the same.
Vocabulary lists containing hoe
The Circuit
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Elijah of Buxton
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Shiloh
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
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
The announcement startled Ryan, who began striding toward the door holding a hula hoe, the claim states.
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
I leaned my hoe against the rocks and went to sit with Miss Maggie.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
David Badham, general manager at Central Convenience on Walker Terrace near where the woman was found on West Hoe Road, said staff heard "screams" and people asking for an ambulance.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025
“She’s the global phenomenon right now and she’s representing Taiwan,” said Benson Hu, 31, who has been doing drag in Taiwan for three years as Sandra Hoe.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024
Infectious diseases expert Leong Hoe Nam said many of the locals signing up at his Rophi Clinic for Sinovac were in their 60s and echoed such fears.
From Reuters ● Jul. 16, 2021
The incident happened on Hoe Avenue Thursday in the middle of the afternoon.
From Fox News ● Sep. 13, 2020
Washington added, “That this Fellow is both a Rogue & Runaway...I shall not pretend to deny—But that he is exceedingly healthy, strong, and good at the Hoe, the whole neighbourhood can testifie.”
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Behind her hundreds of people work side by side, hacking into the rocky ground with hoes and shovels.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
It can turn a century-old maker of back hoes and mining trucks into a hot tech stock.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
One account said the Russians paid the Kashia Pomo people already living there “three blankets, two axes, three hoes, and a miscellaneous assortment of beads” for the use of the land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2025
The farmworkers wanted long-handled hoes, because it hurt their backs to kneel down all day.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2023
She went first to the barn, where the men were sharpening hoes and sickles in preparation for the summer hay cutting.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
"But it's temporary," she sighed, standing barefoot in her freshly hoed soil.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
The Renegades hoed a tougher road, squeaking into the playoffs in the final week with a 4-6 record.
From Washington Times ● May 10, 2023
The highway is quiet enough for new shops like Mr. Qadim’s and for farmers’ fields that can be hoed all the way up to the highway’s edge without fear of being shelled or shot.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2022
African American slaves plowed, planted, hoed, picked, and “ginned” most of this valuable crop.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
Sometimes this short, straight-backed young girl hummed under her breath, or sang, while she hoed the com or tugged on the reins when a refractory mule refused to budge.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
The last stretch of the journey to Cynthia takes me along a dirt track, past meandering cattle, a man hoeing his vegetable patch, and groups of women and children returning from church.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
A detailed analysis of five gardening activities — digging, hoeing, raking, troweling and weeding — found that gardening uses a variety of both upper- and lower-body muscles.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022
Like slaves and servants, poor free women performed hard field labor like hoeing and reaping.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
"I would finish hoeing my garden," he replied.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2016
The corn needed hoeing, and Lurvy didn’t find time to hoe it.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
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.
