steam shovel
noun
a machine for digging or excavating, operated by its own engine and boiler.
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steam shovel
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steam-shovel
steam-shovelnouna steam-driven mechanical excavator, esp one having a large bucket or grab on a beam slung from a revolving jib
steam shovel
Americannoun
steam-shovel
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of steam shovel
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
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:
Underwood noted that the ongoing roadwork allowed him to see a real steam shovel at work, and he and cousin Peggy benefited from all the construction, selling garden surplus and Cokes to the workers.
From Washington Times ● May 6, 2018
“Washington overpowered my father like a steam shovel, tossing him into a heap like discarded dirt,” she wrote.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 22, 2018
Any sadness about the loss of this ancient structure may be complicated by the video’s final shot, showing a steam shovel knocking everything down, the brief “Matta-Clark” included.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2018
Or: “Elizabeth always wanted to read fables to her little girl but the child only wanted to hear the story about the little bird who thought a steam shovel was its mother.”
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 15, 2016
When his father operated the huge steam shovel, Joe perched happily on the rear end of the machine and took merry-go-round rides as Harry spun the steam-belching behemoth around and around.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Dear Carolyn: A dear friend is a steam-shovel mom.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2022
Far from being ashamed of such an unblushing tearjerker, he laid on pathos with a steam-shovel.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the seven mad days before, Chicagoans saw mud slung in steam-shovel fashion, the so-called "better element" cheered 10,000 women marching for "Dever and decency."
From Time Magazine Archive
It means considerable hardship for contractors who are not experienced at handling small jobs, and for steam-shovel operators, steelworkers and other workmen who cannot readily convert to housebuilding.
From Time Magazine Archive
Timbering was used for a short distance, and then the heading and bench were narrowed to 18 ft., and steam-shovel excavation was abandoned.
From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Cross-Town Tunnels. Paper No. 1158 by James H. Brace
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