shovel
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.
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.
to work with a shovel.
Origin of shovel
1Other words from shovel
- un·shov·eled, adjective
- un·shov·elled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use shovel in a sentence
Any backcountry traveler will tell you that a beacon, probe, and shovel are the three most important pieces of avy gear in your kit.
A shovel in the trunk offers a way to scoop your way out of that problem, and this aluminum one comes apart in three different pieces so it takes up less room.
I don’t mean the rule-based play of a board game or the competitive play of a soccer match, but rather the kind of freewheeling, unstructured play that children perform with a pile of LEGO blocks or with toy shovels and buckets in a sandbox.
When there's snow in the driveway, I get my shovel and throw some snow in the garage and brush it out.
Hints From Heloise: Overloading your outlets? You may risk an electrical fire. | Heloise Heloise | December 3, 2020 | Washington PostThis all-purpose shovel weighs less than five pounds, making it easier to handle over long days of work.
Fire-fighting, hunger-striking, snow-shoveling U.S. Senator Cory Booker is up to something new this holiday season: veganism.
But conservatism now feels a lot like liberalism did in 1984 and 1985, back when I was futilely shoveling away that snow.
And they are putting the tools to work, shoveling cash out the door in the form of (lightly taxed until Jan. 1, 2013) dividends.
Fiscal Cliff Countdown, Day 30: Senate Meets Dada | Daniel Gross | December 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd companies are shoveling dividends out to their shareholders before the taxman comes calling.
Fiscal Cliff Fears Drive Huge Spike in Dividend Payouts | Matthew Zeitlin | November 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST“At that time, Mr. Borcina cleaned out the fireplace, shoveling the ash into a paper bag,” Cohen says.
Madonna Badger’s ‘Today’ Interview Shouldn’t Ignore Fire’s Tragic Lessons | Michael Daly | June 21, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe felt inclined to wonder why he did it, as he had not found shoveling gravel anything like so difficult.
The Gold Trail | Harold BindlossImmediately she stooped and began shoveling up the broken glass.
The Happy Unfortunate | Robert SilverbergFranz turned back to his shoveling, fastening his heart and mind on the one ray of hope that remained to him.
Rescue Dog of the High Pass | James Arthur KjelgaardAhead of him and close to the hill he saw a hut with a man who was shoveling snow from the front of it.
A Treasury of Eskimo Tales | Clara Kern BaylissKerk was shoveling his way through his third dessert when his alarm watch gave a tiny hum.
Deathworld | Harry Harrison
British Dictionary definitions for shovel
/ (ˈʃʌvəl) /
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
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
Origin of shovel
1Derived forms of shovel
- shoveller or US shoveler, noun
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
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