backhoe

noun

back·​hoe ˈbak-ˌhō How to pronounce backhoe (audio)
: an excavating machine having a bucket that is attached to a rigid bar hinged to a boom and that is drawn toward the machine in operation

Examples of backhoe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Washington Post first reported the news of the demolition, saying that constructions crews were using a backhoe to rip through and demolish a portion of the White House's East Wing. Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025 Plow it all up with a bulldozer, excavator and backhoe; slightly build up the banks and landscape it with boulders, rocks and gravel, with occasional shallow pools for mosquito fish. Steven Franck, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025 This would be a good time to own a backhoe business. Terri Daxon, Oc Register, 21 Aug. 2025 Remember when Trump threw healthy school lunches to the curb, then had the White House vegetable garden plowed under so deep that backhoe crews hit the Epstein files? Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for backhoe

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of backhoe was in 1928

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Cite this Entry

“Backhoe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backhoe. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

backhoe

noun
back·​hoe -ˌhō How to pronounce backhoe (audio)
: a large machine that digs into the earth with a metal scoop drawn toward the machine

More from Merriam-Webster on backhoe

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