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)
-
shoveled,
past participle, past
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shovelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
shoveling,
present participle
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shovelling
present participle (especially British)
-
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)
-
shovels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shoveled,
past participle, past
-
shovelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
shoveling,
present participle
-
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
-
has shoveledperfect
-
has shovelledperfect
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am shovelingprogressive
-
am shovellingprogressive
-
are shovelingprogressive
-
are shovellingprogressive
-
is shovelingprogressive
-
is shovellingprogressive
-
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
-
had shoveledperfect
-
had shovelledperfect
-
was shovelingprogressive
-
was shovellingprogressive
-
were shovelingprogressive
-
were shovellingprogressive
-
had been shovelingperfect progressive
-
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:
It doesn’t have a shovel in it, but I bet I have one in my trunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
When “Digger” briefly strikes this resonant note, its warring aspects begin to coalesce, before Iñárritu strikes them with a shovel and breaks everything up again.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
First, he assumes that they’re as gullible as he is—that, since he believes the compliments they shovel his way, they’ll believe his shovelings too.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026
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
He walked two steps to the right of the hole in a clockwise curve and thrust the shovel again into the cornfield.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
You’d need the equivalent of those parade attendants in overalls who run along behind the horses with shovels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
That could be bad news for the companies selling the picks and shovels of this gold rush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Companies have even committed to building their own power plants, bolstering demand in the "picks and shovels" sectors like construction and logistics.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Retirees looking to permanently ditch their snow shovels will find Tucson to be one of the West’s better values.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Pop and Mama and my brothers and sisters and me all grabbed brooms and shovels and took to the fields and started swinging, vowing to beat ’em off if we had to.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Better hope enough snow has been shoveled for you to step clear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
They plowed the outfield grass and shoveled away the couple inches of snow that piled up between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to prepare a playable field by gametime at 6:40 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 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
“They don’t shovel. They haven’t shoveled in twenty years. They use machines.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
When Fraser Dingwall scooped up and shovelled the ball to him for England's fourth try of the afternoon, the cover was instantly blow-torched.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
Mercifully, it ended there, but only after Butland shovelled another couple of attempts away as PSV threatened to run riot on an evening when they vanquished a few demons of their own.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023
The moves in yields have shovelled pressure on currencies offering low returns.
From Reuters ● Aug. 22, 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
Or was it all thrown away, shovelled into dustpans?
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
They fought a condemnation order from local officials, spent a winter shoveling out debris and poured more than $900,000 from their savings and from loans into repairs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Big Tech is shoveling billions of dollars into the AI buildout, leaving investors spooked and analysts behind.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 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
‘I was shoveling sidewalks at 8 years old’: I’m a 73-year-old boomer dad with two kids.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
Hopefully shoveling snow and splitting wood would help him clear his head.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
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
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
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
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