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• plough
  plough

  noun

  plow.
• Plough
  Plough

  noun

  the group of the seven brightest stars in the constellation Ursa Major

plough

American  

[plau] / plaʊ /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. plow.

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plough ¹ British  

/ 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

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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 British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• plougher
  noun
• unploughed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of plough

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plough Plough

Gas and dust are piling up there much like snow gathering in front of a plough.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, said this week it would plough $600 million into its operations in the U.S., where it makes Budweiser and other labels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

But the company pledged in its latest results to plough even more money into AI - something big tech bosses say they will spend eye-watering sums on this year.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026

In her victory speech, the 39-year-old said she would plough ahead with the policies introduced by Chaves, whose chief of staff she was.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

Wheat he gave him and rice and cabbage seed and he said, “Tomorrow I will come and plough your land with my good ox.”

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

“He sent me a picture of the whiteboard once,” said Tim Plough, who coached Mendoza at Cal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

“I think he’s going to be playing football for a long time,” said Plough, now the head coach at UC-Davis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025

Find the Plough and trace a line down from the two stars on the right until you find Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

The Crazy Gang were notorious for such behaviour, especially at their old Plough Lane stadium.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024

And there it remained until 1960 when it was discovered by Kenyan divers Conway Plough and Peter Philips.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler