shovel

shovel — noun

1. a gardening or building tool with a wide curved scoop at the end of a long handl

1.nounA2
Definition

a gardening or building tool with a wide curved scoop at the end of a long handle, used to pick up and move loose things such as earth, snow, or stones.

Example

Haruto grabbed the shovel from the shed and began clearing the snow off his driveway.

shovel for clearing snow from a surface

The gardener leaned the shovel against the wall after digging a hole for the tree.

Common collocations
  • snow shovel
  • garden shovel
  • shovel handle
  • shovel blade
  • shovel full of
Synonyms
  • spade

    similar tool but with a flat, pointed blade for digging into soil rather than scooping loose material

  • trowel

    much smaller hand tool for gardening, used with one hand

  • scoop

    a container-like tool for lifting loose material, usually smaller and used in kitchens or for pet food

Grammar Patterns

a/the shovel

shovel + for + noun / verb-ing

Usage Note

The blade of a shovel is curved upward at the sides to hold loose material, unlike a spade which has a flat, pointed blade designed for cutting into soil.

Common Mistakes

He used a shovel to cut the turf.
He used a spade to cut the turf.
a shovel has a curved blade for scooping; a spade has a flat, pointed blade for digging and cutting.
She put the shovel on the fire.
She put the shovel in the shed.
'shovel' refers to the tool, not the act.

2. the large scoop-shaped bucket at the front of a digger, tractor, or other heavy

2.nounB1
Definition

the large scoop-shaped bucket at the front of a digger, tractor, or other heavy vehicle, used to collect and lift earth, rocks, or rubble.

Example

The excavator's shovel scooped up a huge pile of dirt in a single movement.

excavator shovel scooping dirt

Nikhil watched the loader's shovel dump broken rocks into the waiting truck.

Common collocations
  • tractor shovel
  • excavator shovel
  • loader shovel
  • digger shovel
Synonyms
  • bucket

    more general term for the scooping part of a digger or loader

  • scoop

    often used interchangeably for the digging attachment on construction vehicles

Grammar Patterns

the shovel of a + machine noun

a/the + machine + shovel

Usage Note

Frequently used in compound nouns with the machine type, such as 'tractor shovel', 'excavator shovel', or 'loader shovel'.

Common Mistakes

The bulldozer shovel pushed the soil flat.
The bulldozer blade pushed the soil flat.
bulldozers have a flat blade, not a shovel-shaped bucket.

3. the quantity of loose material that fits onto a single shovel, used when giving

3.nounB1
Definition

the quantity of loose material that fits onto a single shovel, used when giving rough measurements.

Example

The recipe said to add one shovel of sand for every two shovels of cement.

shovel as a rough measurement unit

Ife emptied another shovel of gravel into the wheelbarrow and wiped her forehead.

Common collocations
  • a shovel of sand
  • a shovel of coal
  • a shovel of gravel
  • a shovel of soil
Synonyms
  • shovelful

    the exact synonym, though less common in everyday speech

Grammar Patterns

a shovel of + noun (material)

per shovel

each shovel

Usage Note

Often used in instructions for mixing building materials such as concrete, where approximate ratios are given in 'shovels' rather than precise weights.

Common Mistakes

I need a shovel of water.
I need a bucket of water.
'shovel' is only used for dry, loose materials that can be scooped.

shovel — verb

Word family

  • shovelful
    nounB1
  • shoveller
    nounC1
  • snow shovel
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A shovel has a broad, curved blade with raised sides, designed for scooping and moving loose material such as snow, sand, or gravel. A spade looks similar but has a flat, pointed blade made for cutting into soil — you use a spade to dig a hole, but a shovel to move the dug-out earth. A trowel is a much smaller hand tool used in gardening for planting or potting, held in one hand. A scoop is a general term for any container-like utensil that lifts loose material; kitchen scoops (for flour or pet food) and industrial scoops share the same basic function as a shovel but are usually smaller. For example: 'He used a spade to break the ground, then a shovel to remove the loose soil.'

spade ↗trowelscoop ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • shovel handle
  • shovel blade
  • shovel head

Prepositions

  • with a shovel
  • into a shovel

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicIndo-European

The word 'shovel' comes from Old English 'scofl', meaning a tool for pushing or shoving material. It is related to the verb 'shove' (to push roughly), because a shovel was originally understood as a tool that you push into a pile of material. The Old English root goes back to Proto-Germanic '*skublō', and further to the Indo-European root '*skeubh-', meaning 'to push' or 'to shove'.