shovel
Americannoun
-
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.
-
any fairly large contrivance or machine with a broad blade or scoop for taking up or removing loose matter.
a steam shovel.
-
a shovelful.
-
Informal. shovel hat.
verb (used with object)
-
to take up and cast or remove with a shovel.
to shovel coal.
-
to gather up in large quantity roughly or carelessly with or as if with a shovel.
He shoveled food into his mouth.
-
to dig or clear with or as if with a shovel.
to shovel a path through the snow.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
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
-
any machine or part resembling a shovel in action
-
Also called: shovelful. the amount that can be contained in a shovel
-
short for shovel hat
verb
-
to lift (earth, etc) with a shovel
-
(tr) to clear or dig (a path) with or as if with a shovel
-
(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
-
shovelsimple
-
shovelssimple
-
have shoveledperfect
-
have shovelledperfect
-
has shoveledperfect
-
has shovelledperfect
-
am shovelingprogressive
-
am shovellingprogressive
-
are shovelingprogressive
-
are shovellingprogressive
-
is shovelingprogressive
-
is shovellingprogressive
-
have been shovelingperfect progressive
-
have been shovellingperfect progressive
-
has been shovelingperfect progressive
-
has been shovellingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
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
Nearby a large excavator slams its shovel into another building's remains.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
The point of no return was 1915, when Duchamp, altogether rejecting art’s traditional role as aesthetic creation—metamorphosis—brought that snow shovel and hung it from his studio ceiling as “In Advance of the Broken Arm.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
In the film’s short teaser, Cruise — donning an Ethan Hunt-esque hair and makeup transformation — moves balletically while carrying a shovel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Heading back toward the ranger station to return the shovel, I clear a ridge and hear something behind me.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Guitars take the place of shovels, as Henry now repays Carlos’ kindness by helping to save the land that Carlos assumes is ravaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 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
Neighbors, relatives and volunteers rushed to help with picks and shovels, but their efforts were often not enough.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Asia’s titans supply indispensable hardware, the figurative picks and shovels of the AI gold rush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
To be triple safe, Jay adds more water, then shovels more dirt.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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
Turner shoveled out the parsonage again, and Mrs. Cobb’s, and Mr. Newton’s.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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 United Arab Emirates' commercial centre, Dubai has shovelled resources into social and business reforms and sectors like digital technology.
From Reuters ● Jun. 19, 2023
On 21 March 2016, amid soft lighting and loud laughter, Bellin sat in a Brussels restaurant and shovelled down three plates of carbonara.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023
"I'm planning to share it with my family and friends," the investment expert said, as cinema workers shovelled the popcorn into buckets and boxes.
From Reuters ● Nov. 28, 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
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
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
‘I was shoveling sidewalks at 8 years old’: I’m a 73-year-old boomer dad with two kids.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
Best shoveling practices: Even the official DOT workers want you to take a lot of breaks and warm up and drink water.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
Rishi tried to catch Dimple’s eye, but she kept shoveling in French fry after French fry like she was punishing them with her teeth.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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
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
"Business is not so good," says Burhan Morkoc, a baker who spends 17 hours a day shovelling bagel-like pastries called simits in and out of a wood-burning oven.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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.
