plow

[plou]

See more synonyms for plow on Thesaurus.com

noun

an agricultural implement used for cutting, lifting, turning over, and partly pulverizing soil.
any of various implements resembling or suggesting this, as a kind of plane for cutting grooves or a contrivance for clearing away snow from a road or track.
Type Founding. (formerly) an instrument for cutting the groove in the foot of type.

Bookbinding. a device for trimming the edges of the leaves by hand.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy.
1. the constellation Ursa Major.
2. the Big Dipper.

verb (used with object)

to turn up (soil) with a plow.
to make (a furrow) with a plow.
to tear up, cut into, or make a furrow, groove, etc. in (a surface) with or as if with a plow (often followed by up): The tractor plowed up an acre of trees.
to clear by the use of a plow, especially a snowplow (sometimes followed by out): The city's work crews were busily plowing the streets after the blizzard.
to invest, as capital (often followed by into): to plow several hundred million into developing new oil fields.
to reinvest or reutilize (usually followed by back): to plow profits back into new plants and equipment.
(of a ship, boat, animal, etc.)
1. to cleave the surface of (the water): beavers plowing the pond.
2. to make (a way) or follow (a course) in this manner: The yacht plowed an easterly course through the choppy Atlantic.
Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

to till the soil or work with a plow.
to take plowing in a specified way: land that plows easily.
to move forcefully through something in the manner of a plow (often followed by through, into, along, etc.): The cop plowed through the crowd, chasing after the thief. The car plowed into our house.
to proceed in a slow, laborious, and steady manner (often followed by through): The researcher plowed through a pile of reports.
to move through water by cleaving the surface: a ship plowing through a turbulent sea.

Verb Phrases

plow under,
1. to bury under soil by plowing.
2. to cause to disappear; force out of existence; overwhelm: Many mom-and-pop groceries have been plowed under by the big chain stores.

Also especially British, plough.

Origin of plow

before 1100; Middle English plouh, plugh(e), plough(e), Old English plōh; cognate with German Pflug plow

Related formsplow·a·ble, adjectiveplow·a·bil·i·ty, nounplow·er, nouno·ver·plow, verbre·plow, verb (used with object), re·plowed, re·plow·ing.sub·plow, nounsub·plow, verbun·plow·a·ble, adjectiveun·plowed, adjectivewell-plowed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for plowed

broken, turned, furrowed

Examples from the Web for plowed

Contemporary Examples of plowed

The real story of who killed bin Laden may have gone to the bottom of the ocean or been plowed back into the dirt in Abbottabad.
Bin Laden ‘Shooter’ Story Is FUBAR, Special Ops Sources Say
Shane Harris
November 7, 2014
It has plowed those funds into building out its network and constructing new energy gardens.
Will Food Waste Power Your Home?
The Daily Beast
June 16, 2014
As he plowed through what was then a terrifying, alluring setlist, the kids did something unthinkable.
The GOP’s Real Ted Nugent Problem
James Poulos
February 22, 2014
In that, it will join the dozens of states who have plowed ahead with similar proposals.
Shorter GOP: Spending on the Poor is OK When It’s for Drug Tests!
Jamelle Bouie
December 31, 2013
His attempt to boost farm wages, called the Agricultural Adjustment Act, supposedly "plowed under" every fourth acre.
When America Said No to War
Marc Wortman
September 10, 2013

Historical Examples of plowed

But the man had been only stunned by a bullet that plowed its way across the top of his skull.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
It is now and then stated that the metae between strips have been plowed up.
The Enclosures in England
Harriett Bradley
They were then passing a plowed field that was completely covered with knapsacks.
The Downfall
Emile Zola
They plowed through a great billow of sand at the end of the engine house.
The Forbidden Trail
Honor Willsie
For the nursery the ground should be plowed deep and thoroughly pulverized.
Walnut Growing in Oregon
Various

British Dictionary definitions for plowed

plow

noun, verb

the usual US spelling of plough

Derived Formsplower, noun

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

Word Origin and History for plowed

plow

late Old English plog, ploh "plow; plowland" (a measure of land equal to what a yoke of oxen could plow in a day), possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse plogr "plow," Swedish and Danish plog), from Proto-Germanic *plogo- (cf. Old Saxon plog, Old Frisian ploch "plow," Middle Low German ploch, Middle Dutch ploech, Dutch ploeg, Old High German pfluog, German Pflug), a late word in Germanic, of uncertain origin. Old Church Slavonic plugu, Lithuanian plugas "plow" are Germanic loan-words, as probably is Latin plovus, plovum "plow," a word said by Pliny to be of Rhaetian origin.

Replaced Old English sulh, cognate with Latin sulcus "furrow." As a name for the star pattern also known as the Big Dipper or Charles's Wain, it is attested by early 15c., perhaps early 14c. The three "handle" stars (in the Dipper configuration) generally are seen as the team of oxen pulling the plow, though sometimes they are the handle.

plow

late 14c., from plow (n.). Transferred sense from 1580s. Related: Plowed; plowing.