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power shovel

American  

noun

  1. any self-propelled shovel for excavating earth, ore, or coal with a dipper that is powered by a diesel engine or electric motor.


Etymology

Origin of power shovel

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

Video previously released by police showed dozens of searchers wearing rubber boots and protective clothing and face masks using long-tined rakes to examine material excavated from the landfill by a power shovel.

From Washington Times • Dec. 18, 2017

He absorbed knowledge from a broad range of fields with the efficiency of a power shovel scooping earth.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 29, 2011

On the job, it can take on up to 40,000 Ibs. of dirt or water as ballast, do the job of a bulldozer, power shovel, or air compressor capable of running 12 pneumatic jackhammers.

From Time Magazine Archive

A power shovel lacks drama, but there are always sidewalk superintendents around to watch.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was fifty feet square and twenty feet deep, and still going deeper, with a power shovel in it and a couple of dump scows beside.

From Little Fuzzy by Piper, H. Beam

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