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.
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
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Elijah of Buxton
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Shiloh
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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.
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
“You’d have a really big row to hoe and you would have a big fuss inside the military if you chose not to follow a presidential order.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2023
When it was washed and dried, we’d hoe it into the garden, food for our food.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
Formerly known as Roslyn Hoe, it had become a small hotel by the 1930s.
From BBC ● May 29, 2024
“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
The incident happened on Hoe Avenue Thursday in the middle of the afternoon.
From Fox News ● Sep. 13, 2020
Political analyst Loke Hoe Yeong said the issue was considered “political suicide” for parties who feel they will be punished by either conservative or liberal voters.
From Reuters ● Jul. 8, 2020
Hoe that cornfield again, scrub that porch, weed that bean patch.
From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
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
In scorching heat, they attacked solid ground with pickaxes and hoes before carefully tucking the seedlings into the earth.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
Officers were seen using rakes and hoes, strimmers and a small excavator to clear paths through the scrub on a nearby slope - the sound of machinery at work audible in the remote area.
From BBC ● May 25, 2023
To do this, we dug mini-holes in the ground using hoes.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
"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
They harvested grapes in California, hoed sugar beets in Nebraska and picked cherries, peaches, pears and apples in Washington State.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2020
African American slaves plowed, planted, hoed, picked, and “ginned” most of this valuable crop.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
The first time he’d hoed a straight row.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Among the strategies Weller recommended are inter-row hoeing, which helps suppress weeds; thermal weeding, which uses heat to kill weeds; and bio-herbicides, which use microorganisms for weed control.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2024
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
The Education Department has been working to fix these programs by retroactively giving qualified borrowers more credit for time spent in public service and hoeing through a backlog of paperwork, but it could do more.
From New York Times ● May 14, 2022
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
Men, women, and children were hard at work—just as at Stromford—plowing, weeding, and hoeing.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
