plough

[plou]

noun

Chiefly British.

1. plow.

plough

¹

/ plaʊ /

noun

1. an agricultural implement with sharp blades, attached to a horse, tractor, etc, for cutting or turning over the earth

2. any of various similar implements, such as a device for clearing snow

3. a plane with a narrow blade for cutting grooves in wood

4. (in agriculture) ploughed land

5. to begin or undertake a task

verb

1. to till (the soil) with a plough

2. to make (furrows or grooves) in (something) with or as if with a plough

3. to move (through something) in the manner of a plough

   the ship ploughed the water

4. to work at slowly or perseveringly

5. (intr; foll by into or through) (of a vehicle) to run uncontrollably into something in its path

   the plane ploughed into the cottage roof

6. (tr; foll by in, up, under, etc) to turn over (a growing crop, manure, etc) into the earth with a plough

7. slang,  (intr) to fail an examination

Plough

²

/ plaʊ /

noun

1. Usual US name: the Big Dipper. Also known as: Charles's Wain. the group of the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major

Other Word Forms

• unploughed adjective
• plougher noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of plough¹

Old English plōg plough land; related to Old Norse plogr, Old High German pfluoc

Example Sentences

It soon rendered fields impossible to plough, as lines of the goblet-shaped bushes, many of them three feet across, formed impenetrable natural fences in the paths of tractors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nine people have been injured, with one in critical condition, after a car ploughed into a crowd at a racing event in southeastern Australia, police said.

Read more on Barron's

With more than 1,200 pages to plough through, it's often regarded as the Everest of literature with prose as insurmountable as the famed peak.

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Not realising his error, Mullan then ploughed into him a second time before racing off.

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Dr Geake believes treasure finds have been rising in England because there are now more detectorists, more knowledge about why to report things and the impact of ploughing into archaeological sites.

Read more on BBC