hoe

noun \ ˈhō \

Definition of hoe

1 :any of various implements for tilling, mixing, or raking; especially :a tool with a thin flat blade on a long handle used especially for cultivating, weeding, or loosening the earth around plants

2 :backhoe

See hoe defined for English-language learners

See hoe defined for kids

Recent Examples of hoe from the Web

Officers can be seen in a video posted on the sheriff’s department’s Facebook page using a hoe to remove the man’s bedding from under the building.

— byemily zentner, sacbee, "Placer County Sheriff cleans up transient camp in Auburn," 28 Aug. 2017
Hoes cut off weeds at or just below the soil surface, and generally work well on annual weeds.

— NOLA.com, "How to wage war on weeds," 26 Aug. 2017
This is going to be a tough road to hoe in this league for the Trojans, but Tosa West looked very solid at times in a loss to Brookfield East.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Push 2017: A weekly rundown of area high-school football teams on their quest for the playoffs," 19 Aug. 2017
Then, drug users were unapologetically referred to as crack heads and crack hoes.

— helen ubiñas, Philly.com, "#AllAddictsMatter - as long as the drug users are white | Helen Ubiñas," 15 Aug. 2017
Hopper approached one worker, who was sitting in a back hoe tractor, and stuck his weed eater inside the vehicle's cabin in a threatening manner, the worker told authorities.

— tiffini theisen, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Florida man with meth in pocket threatens random workers with weed eater: report," 2 Aug. 2017
The redneck taco—your choice of pork, brisket, sausage, chicken, turkey, or catfish—on a cornbread hoe-cake is reaching legendary status.

— Bon Appetit, "Martin's BBQ," 1 Aug. 2017
Those who used to scrape a living from the soil with a wooden hoe start driving tractors.

— The Economist, "If borders were openA world of free movement would be $78 trillion richer," 13 July 2017
The steak and hoe cakes ($14) pack a tasty punch of spice.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "LouVino Douglass Hills is good, but not living up to full potential | Review," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hoe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hoe

Middle English howe, from Anglo-French houe, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German houwa mattock, houwan to hew — more at hew

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

hoe

verb

Definition of hoe

hoed; hoeing

intransitive verb

:to work with a tool with a thin flat blade on a long handle to cultivate, weed, or loosen the earth around plants :to use or work with a hoe (see ¹hoe) or backhoe

hoeing in the garden all day

transitive verb

1 :to weed, cultivate, or thin (a crop) with a hoe (see ¹hoe)

hoeing carrots and turnips

2 :to remove (weeds) by hoeing

3 :to dress or cultivate (land) by hoeing

The garden needs to be hoed.

—

hoer

play \ˈhō(-ə)r\ noun

See hoe defined for English-language learners

Examples of hoe in a Sentence

The garden has to be hoed.
She was hoeing in the garden all day.

Recent Examples of hoe from the Web

But perennial weeds will often resprout from their below-ground parts, and that makes hoeing a poor control for them.

— NOLA.com, "How to wage war on weeds," 26 Aug. 2017
So any immigration deal-makers at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue could have a tough row to hoe, even if Donald Trump doesn’t backtrack into nativist rhetoric in Phoenix tonight.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Could Trump Hold Dreamers Hostage for Border-Wall Funding?," 22 Aug. 2017
Thoreau – who lived in a hut, claimed a handful of belongings, wore unstylish clothes and a bad haircut, had no obvious chance at romance, and spent the day hoeing beans and looking at trees –

— danny heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, "Happy birthday to Henry David Thoreau – an inconvenient yet invaluable friend," 13 July 2017
So McConnell has a tough row to hoe, made worse by the terrible reviews his handiwork has gotten not only from CBO but from the general public.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "McConnell Has $188 Billion Fund to Save Health-Care Bill. How Will He Spend It?," 28 June 2017
One morning this week, Markowski watched workers hoeing the rich soil between rows of tobacco beneath acres of tenting on his family's West Suffield farm.

— gregory b. hladky, courant.com, "Foreign Competition, Labor Costs Push Connecticut Shade Tobacco Farmers To The Edge," 15 June 2017