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shovel

shovel

177 1.0
A tool with a wide blade and handle for digging and moving soil or snow
  • noun
  • /ˈʃʌvəl/
: pala
  • In the morning, our team trudged back up the hill with shovels, buckets, bags, and cameras.
  • snow shovel
  • picks and shovels
  • dig with a shovel

Now to get your shovel and start digging, plant that tree.

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Examples

  • The man has a shovel and he starts to dig.

  • Now to get your shovel and start digging, plant that tree.

  • We often grab a shovel to dig ourselves out of the hole.

  • Then would somebody get a shovel and some sand and move that out of here?

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Can l borrow that shovel?

  • Chick picks up his shovel and water bottle and starts for his car.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And finally, just as she drifted off, she heard the noise, the shovel cutting into the field.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Jackson went and got a shovel and held it out to Bantry.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Then, in 1989, archaeologist Jim Price took a shovel to a temple mound near New Madrid.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The workers used their shovels to clear the snow from the driveway.

Synonyms

spade
vsshovel
15 1.0

A tool with a flat blade and long handle for digging

is broader with a curved blade for moving loose materials
scoop
vsshovel
14 2.1

A curved bowl used to lift things like ice cream and soil

is for digging and lifting wider volumes of loose material rather than serving
trowel
vsshovel
9 4.8

A small hand tool with a flat metal blade used to scoop and spread soil or plaster

is larger and built for digging or moving loose earth and heavy material
garden tool
vsshovel
4 1.0

A tool used to work in a garden, like a spade or rake

is a specific digging and moving implement rather than a general yard category
coal shovel
vsshovel
1 2.4

A hand-held metal tool that you use to move coal into or out of a fire

is general purpose for many loose materials rather than only fuel
scoop shovel
vsshovel
1 5.2

A large deep bucket on a machine used to lift and move dirt

is flatter and used for broader digging and moving tasks
garden spade
vsshovel
1 2.7

A hand tool with a flat rectangular blade for digging and edging soil

is general for many loose materials and larger jobs beyond yards
hand shovel
vsshovel
1 2.3

A small tool like a mini spade you hold in one hand to dig or move dirt

is larger and fits heavy digging and moving of loose material
1 3.9

A digging tool with a long handle for reaching deep, narrow holes

is for general digging and moving across depths rather than deep reach
ditch spade
vsshovel
7.0

A spade with a long handle for digging narrow ditches

is used for broad moving and digging of loose materials not only trenches

Compounds

steam shovel
  • Archaic
2 5.7

A large machine with a bucket that digs and moves earth in construction and mining

power shovel
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A large machine with a bucket that digs and moves earth

1 2.4

A hand-held metal tool that you use to move coal into or out of a fire

1 5.2

A large deep bucket on a machine used to lift and move dirt

1 2.3

A small tool like a mini spade you hold in one hand to dig or move dirt

shovel board
  • Archaic
8.9

A game where players slide coins or discs across a long smooth board to reach a target for points

shovel hat
  • Archaic
9.9

A stiff hat with a wide brim and a front that sticks out often worn by church priests

How Big

shovel
177 1.0
spade
15 1.0
hand shovel
1 2.3
trowel
9 4.8

Surface Forms

shovel singular
shovels plural

Etymology

The word shovel comes from an old English word scofl that meant 'scoop' or 'digging tool'. So a shovel is literally a 'scoop' used to move soil, ash, or snow.