shovel
Americannoun
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shovels
plural
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an implement consisting of a broad blade or scoop attached to a long handle, used for taking up, removing, or throwing loose matter, as earth, snow, or coal.
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any fairly large contrivance or machine with a broad blade or scoop for taking up or removing loose matter.
a steam shovel.
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a shovelful.
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Informal. shovel hat.
verb (used with object)
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shovels,
present (3rd person singular)
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shoveled,
past participle, past
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shovelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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shoveling,
present participle
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shovelling
present participle (especially British)
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to take up and cast or remove with a shovel.
to shovel coal.
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to gather up in large quantity roughly or carelessly with or as if with a shovel.
He shoveled food into his mouth.
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to dig or clear with or as if with a shovel.
to shovel a path through the snow.
verb (used without object)
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shovels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shoveled,
past participle, past
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shovelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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shoveling,
present participle
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shovelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
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an instrument for lifting or scooping loose material, such as earth, coal, etc, consisting of a curved blade or a scoop attached to a handle
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any machine or part resembling a shovel in action
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Also called: shovelful. the amount that can be contained in a shovel
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short for shovel hat
verb
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to lift (earth, etc) with a shovel
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(tr) to clear or dig (a path) with or as if with a shovel
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(tr) to gather, load, or unload in a hurried or careless way
he shovelled the food into his mouth and rushed away
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shovelsimple
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shovelssimple
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have shoveledperfect
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have shovelledperfect
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has shoveledperfect
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has shovelledperfect
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am shovelingprogressive
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am shovellingprogressive
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are shovelingprogressive
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are shovellingprogressive
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is shovelingprogressive
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is shovellingprogressive
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have been shovelingperfect progressive
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have been shovellingperfect progressive
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has been shovelingperfect progressive
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has been shovellingperfect progressive
Past
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shoveledsimple
-
shovelledsimple
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had shoveledperfect
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had shovelledperfect
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was shovelingprogressive
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was shovellingprogressive
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were shovelingprogressive
-
were shovellingprogressive
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had been shovelingperfect progressive
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had been shovellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shovel
before 900; Middle English schovel, Old English scofl; cognate with Dutch schoffel hoe; akin to German Schaufel shovel
Explanation
A shovel is the tool you need if you want to dig holes in the ground. If you're taking your younger cousins to the beach, be sure to bring lots of pails and shovels so they can build a sandcastle. A shovel has a long handle and a wide, curved blade at the end. By pushing the end of the shovel into the ground and scooping, you can shovel out enough soil to make room for the treasure chest you want to bury. Shovels are useful for clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways too, and you can describe the amount of dirt carried in a shovel as a shovel (or shovelful) of dirt.
Vocabulary lists containing shovel
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.
See Examples For:
Volunteers took advantage of low water levels to shovel silt and prepare for the return of rain after previous flooding.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The lower a pension fund’s ratio, the harder it is to dig out of the hole even as taxpayers shovel out more and more money to keep the shortfall from growing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Wood thinks it’s also worth noting that the pick and shovel stocks are getting their earnings from the capex boom upfront.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
"The person was pinned down but could move their hand. And I got them out alive," said Faramaya, who says he uses "nothing but a pickaxe and a shovel" to pick through the rubble.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
I wondered as I sank my shovel into the black muck.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Along the undercroft corridor, a series of modest but well-conceived exhibits tells the story of the Memorial’s construction—highlighted by a display of boots, shovels and other detritus recovered from the soggy floors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Wood points out the picks and shovels theme is well-established among investors by now, hence the huge outperformance of the semiconductor stocks versus the hyperscalers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Rescuers used what tools they could scrounge — shovels, hoes, pickaxes, their bare hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
On Sunday, a group of residents ordered a group of soldiers to pick up picks and shovels and join in the rescue efforts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
They dug for a while, the only sound the scrape of the shovels against the rock and the dirt.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
We both cooked, kept house, made beds, shoveled snow, mowed the lawn, handled the finances, and bought, built or leased the 11 different homes we lived in before retiring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The snow has been shoveled to the side, but it remains hazardous for both pedestrians and drivers, and needs an extra boost to go away in a timely fashion.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
The share count will increase when newly created stock is shoveled to executives as part of their compensation or if shares are issued to help pay for acquisitions.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 28, 2025
Titus and Bjorklund shoveled mounds of ice over the crabs, putting them in a hibernating state to make it easier to transfer them into containers to be weighed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2025
The shadows of the massed black pines were lavender in that bright light, and I walked with Valerie awhile, down the familiar labyrinth of shoveled asylum paths.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
The mud in the pit is sifted and shovelled.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Sheridan was forced into action again as she shovelled Sinead Farrelly's effort wide, but Canada should have been level, only for stretching defender Vanessa Gilles to somehow poke. over from five yards from a corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2023
Under the watch of a few tearful mourners, workers hurriedly shovelled the sandy earth into one grave on Monday.
From Reuters ● Apr. 18, 2022
Elsewhere in the central Madagascar region of Haute Matsiatra villagers shovelled mud from a road on Sunday to clear damage from a landslide caused by Batsirai.
From Reuters ● Feb. 6, 2022
Or was it all thrown away, shovelled into dustpans?
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Big Tech is shoveling billions of dollars into the AI buildout, leaving investors spooked and analysts behind.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
His days on the railroad involved long hours shoveling coal into the furnaces that fed locomotive steam engines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
This exciting nutrition system may include fun things like nearly blinding your boss with direct sunlight at an open-air business lunch, or shoveling food in your face from 5:10 to 5:11 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
That’s probably how you felt when you were shoveling snow as an 8-year-old kid.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026
It’s peach, the same color as my dress, and so sweet, it makes me sick, but I keep shoveling it into my mouth anyway.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Images released by state media showed Kim shovelling soil alongside other officials at a ceremony attended by an excited crowd clapping and waving North Korean flags.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
"Half an hour had gone and there was no call back from them, so that's when I phoned friends and we started getting in and shovelling them all down to the river."
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025
Miller blasted a long shot toward the Oilers’ net and Lindholm picked it up, kicking the puck to his stick at the bottom of the slot, then shovelling a backhanded shot into the Edmonton net.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2024
Reuters photos showed earth movers and rescue workers shovelling silt and mud to dig out military vehicles buried by the riverside.
From Reuters ● Oct. 5, 2023
The man looked both ways as if to make sure the coast was clear, then stepped outside into the freezing cold and started shovelling his way down the pavement.
From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
