shovel

Meanings

Plural: shovels

Noun

a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle
the quantity a shovel can hold
a fire iron consisting of a small shovel used to scoop coals or ashes in a fireplace
a machine for excavating
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.
A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.
Any shovel in the above senses, or any spade.
Ellipsis of shovel hat.

Verb

dig with or as if with a shovel
- "shovel sand"
- "he shovelled in the backyard all afternoon long"
To move materials with a shovel.
To move with a shoveling motion.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English shovele, schovel, showell, shoule, 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”), Swedish skyffel, skovel (“shovel”), Icelandic skófla (“shovel”).

Synonyms

digger, excavator, power shovel, shovelful, spadeful

Scrabble Score: 12

shovel is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
shovel is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
shovel is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

shovel is a valid Words With Friends word