Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
snow thrower

snow thrower

3.8
A machine that lifts snow and throws it to the side
  • noun
  • /snoʊ ˈθroʊər/
  • US
translation icon : quitanieves
  • He bought a new snow thrower before winter started.

Examples

  • After the heavy storm, I used the snow thrower to clear the driveway.

  • The snow thrower makes removing deep snow much faster than shoveling by hand.

  • The snow thrower cleared the driveway quickly.

  • My neighbor bought a new snow thrower last week.

  • He used the snow thrower to clear the driveway after the heavy snowfall last night.

  • The snow thrower efficiently cleared the path to the front door during the winter storm.

  • With her new snow thrower, she can remove snow from the car and driveway in no time.

Synonyms

snow blower
vssnow thrower
  • UK
2 3.5

A machine that clears snow by throwing it to the side

is the same machine and serves the same purpose under another common name

How Powerful

to snowplow
  • US
3.5
snow thrower
  • US
3.8
shovel
142 1.0

Surface Forms

snow thrower singular
snow throwers plural

Morphology

snow + thrower

The meaning is directly built from 'snow' + 'thrower' and indicates an entity that throws or propels snow; a learner who knows both words can readily infer this refers to a device that ejects snow. The English agent/instrument suffix '-er' commonly yields a machine or person that performs the action, and similar transparent compounds exist in many languages, so this is immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Snow thrower comes from a simple picture: the machine scoops snow and 'throws' it out, so it is a thrower of snow. That's why the name means 'a machine that removes snow by throwing it away'.