hoe

noun \ ˈhō \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

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

Better yet, use a hoe to whack them off just below the soil line.

— debbie arrington, sacbee, "What to plant now? March offers wide range of gardening opportunities | The Sacramento Bee," 2 Mar. 2018
The most common way to apply dry fertilizer is to broadcast it and then hoe or rake it into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil.

— the editors of organic life, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need To Know About Organic Fertilizer," 10 Mar. 2017
Most of us don’t pay much mind to our spades, hoes, and edgers.

— paul cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "It's not quite time to get dirty in the garden. So clean your tools instead. Here's how.," 9 Mar. 2018
Keep an eye out for traditional instruments like the bastel (cow horn), chapi (hoe and metal rod), and karkó (conch shell horn).

— Daily Intelligencer, "Authentic Ways to Experience 5 Caribbean Islands," 23 Apr. 2018
Nowhere is this more exhilarating than in the sculptures of five little girls, armed with the vintage tools of their field labor — tobacco knife, hoe, bale hook — and a formidable intensity of purpose.

— leah ollman, latimes.com, "Alison Saar turns things 'Topsy Turvy' at L.A. Louver," 9 Apr. 2018
The images from Balam Club in Chiapas feature girls in cornfields with garden hoes and in Los Angeles, the girls of Los Fotos Project unpacked those same pink dresses for photos in front of street art.

— mary dellas, The Cut, "Girls Clubs Make Art From Old Prom Dresses," 6 Mar. 2018
Next up for Zidane and Real is a hoe clash with Getafe on Saturday, before the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie away to Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday, with Real 3-1 up from the first leg.

— SI.com, "Zinedine Zidane Insists Real Madrid Did Not Deserve to Lose After Late Espanyol Winner," 28 Feb. 2018
Or when the gangsta rappers, and Oscar nominees, Three 6 Mafia, sang about pimps and hoes before the black-tie audience, hardly their usual crowd, and then, fantastically, won.

— cara buckley, New York Times, "The Agony, Absurdity and Ecstasy of the Oscar for Best Song," 14 Feb. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

With mulch in place, hoeing won’t work to remove weeds.

— margaret lauterbach, idahostatesman, "Save yourself some work in your garden and with your lawn this year | Idaho Statesman," 2 May 2018
This is the time to hoe or pull or smother weeds with a thick layer of mulch before they flower.

— nan sterman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "April in the garden," 5 Apr. 2018
This isn't just standing there watering the flowers, but weeding, digging, hoeing, raking and planting.

— jefferson county cooperative extension, AL.com, "New Year, New Me, Better Garden! (Garden Talk)," 28 Dec. 2017
In 1977, summer days were hot, especially when Kelly hoed corn in the fields, but nights were cool.

— the marshall project, NOLA.com, "'Cooking them to death': The lethal toll of hot prisons," 12 Oct. 2017
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
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

Origin and Etymology of hoe

see ¹hoe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

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

Hoe

biographical name \ ˈhō \

Definition of Hoe

Richard March 1812–1886 son of Robert Hoe American inventor

Hoe

biographical name

Definition of Hoe

Robert 1784–1833 American (English-born) printing-press manufacturer

HOE Defined for English Language Learners

hoe

noun

Definition of hoe for English Language Learners

: a garden tool that has a flat blade on a long handle

hoe

verb

Definition of hoe for English Language Learners

: to work on (something, such as a garden or a crop) with a hoe

HOE Defined for Kids

hoe

noun \ ˈhō \

Definition of hoe for Students

: a tool with a long handle and a thin flat blade used for weeding and cultivating

hoe

verb

Definition of hoe for Students

hoed; hoeing

: to weed or loosen the soil around plants with a hoe

Learn More about hoe

See words that rhyme with hoe Spanish Central: Translation of hoe Nglish: Translation of hoe for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hoe for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hoe

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hoe

Definition of hoe

Recent Examples of hoe from the Web

Origin and Etymology of hoe

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

hoe

Definition of hoe

hoer

Examples of hoe in a Sentence

Recent Examples of hoe from the Web

Origin and Etymology of hoe

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

Hoe

Definition of Hoe

Hoe

Definition of Hoe

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HOE Defined for English Language Learners

hoe

Definition of hoe for English Language Learners

hoe

Definition of hoe for English Language Learners

HOE Defined for Kids

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Definition of hoe for Students

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