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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Shovel

/ˈʃʌv.əl/ · noun

Meaning

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..

Definitions by Sense

  1. 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.
  2. A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.
  3. (especially US, loosely) Any shovel in the above senses, or any spade.
  4. Ellipsis of shovel hat.
  5. To move materials with a shovel.
  6. (transitive, figuratively) To move with a shoveling motion.

Example Sentences

It was said that such train crews kept a spare shovel on board because, on numerous occasions, the beginner had not only zealously thrown coal into the firebox but had let the shovel go as well.
No one seems to like the offer, and the umpire is just coming down, when a queer old hat, something like a doctor of divinity's shovel, is chucked on to the stage […]
The workers were shovelling gravel and tarmac into the pothole in the road.
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.
Off again, a fierce light now trailing out behind us from the open furnace door, lighting up the fireman as he shovelled more coal on to the furnace, [...].
The coal is then transferred to broad-gauge wagons for transport to Dublin. The transhipment is a rather laborious business, the coal being shovelled by hand from one wagon to another.
Already late for work, I shovelled breakfast into my mouth as fast as possible.

Synonyms for shovel

diggerexcavatorspadefulshovelfulpower shovel

Antonyms for shovel

Related Words

shovelfulspadefuldiggerexcavatorpower shovelspadebucketbulldozerdustpanbackhoebroomscoopspatulaleatherskinfurcruiserbarbecuepillflesh

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does shovel mean?

Shovel means 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..

What is a synonym for shovel?

Common synonyms include digger, excavator, spadeful, shovelful.

What is the opposite of shovel?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use shovel in a sentence?

It was said that such train crews kept a spare shovel on board because, on numerous occasions, the beginner had not only zealously thrown coal into the firebox but had let the shovel go as well.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.