shov·el (shŭv'əl)
n.

1. A tool with a handle and a broad scoop or blade for digging and moving material, such as dirt or snow.
2. A large mechanical device or vehicle for heavy digging or excavation.
3. The amount that a shovel can hold; a shovelful: One shovel of dirt.

v., -eled, also -elled, -el·ing, -el·ling, -els, -els.

v.tr.

1. To move or remove with a shovel.
2. To make with a shovel: shoveled a path through the snow.
3. To convey or throw in a rough or hasty way, as if with a shovel: He shoveled the food into his mouth.
4. To clear or excavate with or as if with a shovel: shoveling off the driveway after the snowstorm; shovels out the hall closet once a year.

v.intr.
To dig or work with a shovel.

[Middle English, from Old English scofl.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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