Shovel

Quick meaning: Shovel is a noun meaning A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.

Meaning

A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.

More Meanings

1. (especially US, loosely) Any shovel in the above senses, or any spade.
2. Ellipsis of shovel hat.
3. To move materials with a shovel.
4. (transitive, figuratively) To move with a shoveling motion.
5. A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. In strict usage differentiated from a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.

Example Sentences

After the blizzard, we shoveled the driveway for the next two days.

I don't mind shoveling, but using a pickaxe hurts my back terribly.

The workers were shovelling gravel and tarmac into the pothole in the road.

Already late for work, I shovelled breakfast into my mouth as fast as possible.

Word Forms

• shovels
• shoveling
• shovelling
• shoveled
• shovelled

Synonyms for shovel

Depending on context, synonyms include digger, excavator, spadeful, shovelful.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include shovelful, spadeful, digger, excavator, spade, bucket.

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