Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Any shovel in the above senses, or any spade.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, broadly, especially
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Ellipsis of shovel hat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To move materials with a shovel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To move with a shoveling motion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, transitive
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a machine for excavating
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: power shovel, excavator, digger
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: machine
Narrower terms: backhoe, dredge, steam shovel
noun
a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hand tool
Narrower terms: hand shovel, posthole digger, post-hole digger, scoop, scoop shovel
noun
a fire iron consisting of a small shovel used to scoop coals or ashes in a fireplace
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fire iron
noun
the quantity a shovel can hold
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: shovelful, spadeful
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: containerful
verb
dig with or as if with a shovel
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: dig, delve, cut into, turn over
History
From Middle English schovele, schovel, showell, shole (> English dialectal shoul, shool), from Old English scofl (“shovel”), from Proto-Germanic *skuflō, *skūflō (“shovel”), equivalent to shove + -el (instrumental/agent suffix). Cognate with Scots shuffle, shule, shuil (“shovel”), Saterland Frisian Sköifel (“shovel”), West Frisian skoffel, schoffel (“hoe, spade, shovel”), Dutch schoffel (“spade, hoe”), Low German Schüfel, Schuffel (“shovel”), German Schaufel (“shovel”), Danish skovl (“shovel”), Faroese skupla (“shovel”), Icelandic skófla (“shovel”), Norwegian skyfle (“shovel”), skyffel (“shovel, hoe”), Swedish skyffel, skovel (“shovel”).
Across languages
188 source translations are retained for this English entry.
