# shovel

/ˈʃəvəɫ/ (US) · /ʃˈʌvəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/shovel
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. hand tool

noun · CEFR A2

a tool with a long handle and a broad blade used for lifting and moving loose material like earth or snow.

For teachers: a manual tool with a handle and a broad, often curved blade used for moving bulk materials such as soil, grain, or snow.

- He used a heavy shovel to clear the deep snow from his driveway.
- The gardener leaned his shovel against the shed after a long afternoon of moving compost to the flower beds.

### 2. machine part

noun · CEFR B2

the large, heavy bucket on a big construction machine used for digging.

For teachers: the large bucket or scoop of a mechanical excavator or power-operated digging machine.

- The giant shovel of the excavator lifted tons of dirt in one go.
- The hydraulic shovel on the construction site was capable of moving several cubic metres of earth with every rotation of the arm.

### 3. to move material

verb · CEFR B1

to lift and move something using a shovel.

For teachers: to move, lift, or clear material with a shovel; often used transitively with the material as the object.

- We had to shovel the gravel into the back of the truck.
- The workers had to shovel coal into the furnace throughout the night to keep the factory's steam engines running.

### 4. to move quickly or roughly

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to move something quickly or in large amounts, often in a messy way.

For teachers: to move something in large quantities or with a rough, sweeping motion, often used figuratively regarding food.

- He was so hungry that he started to shovel food into his mouth.
- The exhausted hikers began to shovel the hot stew into their mouths as soon as the bowls were placed on the table.

## Examples

- He used a shovel to clear the snow from the driveway.
- The gardener kept a heavy-duty shovel in the shed for moving large piles of mulch into the flower beds.
- Archaeologists must balance the efficiency of a large shovel for removing topsoil with the precision of smaller hand tools once they reach the sensitive layers of the excavation site.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.