shovel
[shuhv-uh l]
- 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.
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- 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.
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- to work with a shovel.
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Origin of shovel
before 900; Middle English schovel, Old English scofl; cognate with Dutch schoffel hoe; akin to German Schaufel shovel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for shoveling
Contemporary Examples
And they are putting the tools to work, shoveling cash out the door in the form of (lightly taxed until Jan. 1, 2013) dividends.
And companies are shoveling dividends out to their shareholders before the taxman comes calling.
“At that time, Mr. Borcina cleaned out the fireplace, shoveling the ash into a paper bag,” Cohen says.
Are the media about to bury Newt Gingrich for the third time, shoveling extra dirt on his campaign casket to just to make sure?
Boiled down, shoveling snow and helping the stranded epitomize governing.
Historical Examples
The two men were busy for a long while, shoveling away the sand.
Howard Pyle's Book of PiratesHoward Pyle
Uncle Eb had to do a lot of shoveling to get out of doors and into the stable.
Eben HoldenIrving Bacheller
“Yes, they are shoveling the dirt out again,” declared the girl.
The Wall BetweenSara Ware Bassett
And he kept on shoveling until the man said that was enough.
The DoersWilliam John Hopkins
Men were already clearing the streets, and shoveling the refuse from the stores.
Hester's CounterpartJean K. Baird
shovel
- 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
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- 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 wayhe shovelled the food into his mouth and rushed away
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Word Origin
Old English scofl; related to Old High German scūfla shovel, Dutch schoffel hoe; see shove
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for shoveling
shovel
n.
Old English scofl, sceofol "shovel," related to scufan (see shove (v.)), from Proto-Germanic *skublo (cf. Old Saxon skufla, Swedish skovel, Middle Low German schufle, Middle Dutch shuffel, Dutch schoffel, Old High German scuvala, German Schaufel). Shovel-ready, with reference to construction projects, is attested by 2006.
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shovel
v.
mid-15c., from shovel (n.). Related: Shoveled; shoveling. Cf. German schaufeln, verb from noun.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper