SHOVEL

shovel

(noun) a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle

shovel

(noun) a fire iron consisting of a small shovel used to scoop coals or ashes in a fireplace

shovel, shovelful, spadeful

(noun) the quantity a shovel can hold

shovel

(verb) dig with or as if with a shovel; “shovel sand”; “he shovelled in the backyard all afternoon long”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

shovel (plural shovels)

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. Not to be confused with a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.

(US) A spade.

Verb

shovel (third-person singular simple present shovels, present participle shovelling or shoveling, simple past and past participle shovelled or shoveled)

To move materials with a shovel.

(transitive, figuratively) To move with a shoveling motion.

Anagrams

• hovels

Source: Wiktionary


Shov"el, n. Etym: [OE. shovele, schovele, AS. scoft, sceoft; akin to D. schoffel, G. schaufel, OHG. sc, Dan. skovl, Sw. skofvel, skyffel, and to E. shove. sq. root160. See Shove, v. t.]

Definition: An implement consisting of a broad scoop, or more or less hollow blade, with a handle, used for lifting and throwing earth, coal, grain, or other loose substances. Shovel hat, a broad-brimmed hat, turned up at the sides, and projecting in front like a shovel, - - worn by some clergy of the English Church. [Colloq.] -- Shovelspur (Zoöl.), a flat, horny process on the tarsus of some toads, -- used in burrowing.

– Steam shovel, a machine with a scoop or scoops, operated by a steam engine, for excavating earth, as in making railway cuttings.

Shov"el, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shoveled or Shovelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Shoveling or Shovelling.]

1. To take up and throw with a shovel; as, to shovel earth into a heap, or into a cart, or out of a pit.

2. To gather up as with a shovel.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 April 2025

ENCYCLOPEDIA

(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty


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Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.

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