hoe
[ hoh ]
/ hoʊ /
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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.
any of various implements of similar form, as for mixing plaster or mortar.
verb (used with object), hoed, hoe·ing.
to dig, scrape, weed, cultivate, etc., with a hoe.
verb (used without object), hoed, hoe·ing.
to use a hoe.
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Origin of hoe
1325–75; Middle English howe<Old French houe<Germanic; compare Middle Dutch houwe,Old High German houwa mattock; akin to hew
OTHER WORDS FROM hoe
hoer, nounhoelike, adjectiveun·hoed, adjectiveOther definitions for hoe (2 of 2)
Hoe
[ 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hoe in a sentence
In hoeing the hoer should be particularly careful to go quite to the roots of the weeds, and clear of the roots of the plants.
"Though all the same Tim's quite a turnip-hoer," he conceded.
Corporal Cameron|Ralph ConnorNot to every man is it given to become a turnip-hoer in the truest sense of that word.
Corporal Cameron|Ralph ConnorBut he knew that the jealous hoer-wyfel would never allow it.
The Legend of Ulenspiegel|Charles de Coster
British Dictionary definitions for hoe
hoe
/ (həʊ) /
noun
any of several kinds of long-handled hand implement equipped with a light blade and used to till the soil, eradicate weeds, etc
verb hoes, hoeing or hoed
to dig, scrape, weed, or till (surface soil) with or as if with a hoe
Derived forms of hoe
hoer, nounhoelike, adjectiveWord Origin for hoe
C14: via Old French houe from Germanic: compare Old High German houwā, houwan to hew, German Haue 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
Other Idioms and Phrases with hoe
hoe
see tough row to hoe.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.