Definition of auger
: any of various tools or devices with a helical shaft or part that are used for boring holes (as in wood, soil, or ice) or moving loose material (such as snow)
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Recent Examples of auger from the Web
-
During the walk around the woods, children and adults were offered the opportunity to get hands-on and drill into bark using an auger — a low-tech tool used to bore holes in maple trees.
-
Auger-drive motor: Powers the auger that turns ice out of the bucket, forcingit down the dispenser chute. 11.
-
The wilderness designation precludes the use of any sort of power equipment, like power ice augers, chain saws, snowmachines or airplanes.
-
Dale took to the ice dressed in his unique drilling attire and with a power auger successfully managed to break the ice.
-
But long before the pole bent, before the auger turned, before the ice was formed this month.
-
Registrants will also have a chance to win door prizes, such as a manual auger, ice shelter and rod-and-reel combinations.
-
There was little to see — one crew pushed dirt around using a front end loader, and another used the auger to dig holes.
-
That doesn’t auger particularly well for the hopes of Republicans to snag a few Democratic votes in the Senate to offset possible GOP defections of the kind that sunk their health care legislation.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'auger.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The tool called an auger has nothing to do with people’s navels, but the words auger and navel are related. This tool was first used to bore a hole for the axle in the nave, or hub, of a wheel. Such a nave was called nafu in Old English. Nafu is related to the word nafela, which became our word navel. The Old English ancestor of auger was nafogar, which was made up of nafu and gar, meaning “spear.” By Middle English nafogar had lost a syllable and shrunk to nauger. Since a nauger sounds like an auger, people began to write an auger, and our modern spelling of the word was born.
Illustration of auger
AUGER Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of auger for English Language Learners
-
: a sharp tool that is used chiefly for making holes
AUGER Defined for Kids
Learn More about auger
-
See words that rhyme with auger Spanish Central: Translation of auger Nglish: Translation of auger for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about auger
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up auger? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
