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
-
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
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shovelledsimple
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had shoveledperfect
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had shovelledperfect
-
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
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
The high school’s athletes are called the “Muckers,” after those who shovel ore into underground rail cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Abel made himself snowshoes and went to his book with a homemade shovel in one arm, his spear in the other.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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
At the disaster sites, hundreds of national guardsmen and police stood idly by clutching their rifles and manning checkpoints, leaving residents to wonder why they weren’t grabbing shovels to help find survivors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
Bare hands and shovels shift through the rubble, while a drone scans overhead.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Mark and Chicho follow behind, carrying two big shovels.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
Better hope enough snow has been shoveled for you to step clear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 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
Crews wearing hazmat suits shoveled mounds of ash into plastic garbage bags.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025
He shoveled more confetti-sprinkled ice cream into his mouth.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
All memory of Nancy's reign - if you want to call it that - will be shovelled under a carpet now by anybody and everybody culpable in the process of appointing him.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
Thousands of athletes, some as young as 12, were shovelled through a programme where cheating was a prerequisite.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2024
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
The BFG grabbed the garden spade and scooped up all the eggs, sausages, bacon and potatoes in one go and shovelled them into his enormous mouth.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
Big Tech is shoveling billions of dollars into the AI buildout, leaving investors spooked and analysts behind.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Baling hay and shoveling corn paid $1.25 per hour, and was also done in full sun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
PIV lured megastar golfers Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and others away from the PGA Tour by shoveling hundreds of millions of dollars into their bank accounts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Advice from a MarketWatch reader: ‘I was shoveling sidewalks at 8 years old’: I’m a 73-year-old boomer dad with two kids.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
All day long, he had been shoveling snow in the streets.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
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
Fellow resident Mark Clayton, helped to co-ordinate the sandbag collection, shovelling more than 140 tonnes of sand.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 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
On a sun-scorched shoreline in Iraq's southern marshlands, fishermen stood shovelling a grim catch: tiny fish gathered dead from the water, fit only for use as animal fodder.
From Reuters ● Jun. 5, 2023
We spent most of our time shovelling excrement and rinsing cages and giving feed while Father played the vet.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
