Definition of "shovel" in inglés

noun

1. 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.

2. A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.

3. (especially US, loosely) Any shovel in the above senses, or any spade.

4. Ellipsis of shovel hat.

verb

1. To move materials with a shovel.

   • The workers were shovelling gravel and tarmac into the pothole in the road.
   • After the blizzard, we shoveled the driveway for the next two days.
   • I don't mind shoveling, but using a pickaxe hurts my back terribly.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To move with a shoveling motion.

   • Already late for work, I shovelled breakfast into my mouth as fast as possible.