spadeful

[ speyd-fool ]

/ ˈspeɪd fʊl /

Save This Word!

the amount that can be dug out with or carried on a spade.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1635–45; spade¹ + -ful

After dinner we dug a small hole in the floor of the outer tent, in which we placed a spadeful of red-hot embers from the fire.
Three in Norway|James Arthur Lees
There would be no getting used to it, every moment, every hour, that passed would but put another spadeful of earth on his coffin.
The Angel of Pain|E. F. Benson
Yesterday a spadeful of diamonds dumped upon a velvet cloth was only a spadeful of diamonds to him, and it was nothing more.
What Will People Say?|Rupert Hughes
"I can see roses in that, miss," said the gardener, turning up a deep spadeful for her inspection.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy

I cant budge a spadeful of this hard ground, Betty, complained Ruth, as her companion joined her.
Girl Scouts at Dandelion Camp|Lillian Elizabeth Roy