plow

noun

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\ ˈplau̇

Definition of plow

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an implement used to cut, lift, and turn over soil especially in preparing a seedbed

2 : any of various devices (such as a snowplow) operating like a plow

plow

verb

plowed; plowing; plows

Definition of plow (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to turn, break up, or work with a plow

b : to make (something, such as a furrow) with a plow

2 : to cut into, open, or make furrows or ridges in with or as if with a plow

3 : to cleave the surface of or move through (water) whales plowing the ocean

4 : to clear away snow from with a snowplow plow the street

5 : to spend or invest (money) in substantial amounts —used with intoplow money into stocks

intransitive verb

1a : to use a plow

b : to undergo plowing

2a : to move forcefully into or through something the car plowed into a fence

b : to proceed steadily and laboriously had to plow through a stack of letters

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Examples of plow in a Sentence

Verb The soil was freshly plowed. They used oxen to plow the field. My street hasn't been plowed yet. We hired someone to plow the snow from our driveway. The town won't start plowing until the storm is almost over. a ship plowing the ocean They continued to plow their way through the tall grass.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The field was a half-mile wide, bordered by a fencerow on the western end, where a pile of rocks stacked over years of the plow turning them up and farm boys following in the wake, tossing them to the pile. — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, "A chilly morning, a North Dakota wheat field, a flock of geese and the gift of a lifetime," 30 Nov. 2019 Live weather updates are available through the city at denvergov.org/snow and a plow tracker is available during storms at pocketgov.org/plowtracker. — Conrad Swanson, The Denver Post, "Icy Denver streets cause frustration as crews brace for more snow," 29 Nov. 2019 The really cool and dry air plows in tomorrow and lasts through the weekend. — Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Heat abates as dry, crisp fall weather arrives Friday," 3 Oct. 2019 Across Massachusetts, close to 4,000 pieces of equipment were on the roads Monday, Baker said, according to CNN affiliate WHDH, including plows, plower-spreader combinations and front end loaders. — Christina Maxouris, CNN, "Winter storm's last snowfall over New England is making for dangerous morning commute conditions," 3 Dec. 2019 New York City’s Sanitation Department officials said that plows would be deployed when two inches of snow had accumulated. — Michael Gold, New York Times, "Snow and Rain Create Sloppy Rush Hour," 2 Dec. 2019 In all, Denver has 68 large plows to cover 2,050 lane miles of streets other than the interstates, Nancy Kuhn, spokesperson for Denver Public Works, said in an email. — Conrad Swanson, The Denver Post, "Icy Denver streets cause frustration as crews brace for more snow," 29 Nov. 2019 Denver International struggled to keep up, even with 200 trucks and plows clearing the runways. — Barry Petersen, CBS News, "Storms cause travel nightmare for millions ahead of Thanksgiving," 26 Nov. 2019 The Kentucky Department of Highways, which is responsible for the interstates, said snow plow crews would report for duty at midnight. — Sarah Ladd, The Courier-Journal, "Get ready, Louisville: Here's what to know about Monday's snow and Tuesday's cold weather," 11 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb After snowfall, road is often plowed only to a popular photo overlook, which adds 0.7 of a mile to each leg of trip. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Get a fresh New Year start at snowy mountain lookout," 3 Jan. 2020 Those profits enable the company to plow money into many other industries. — New York Times, "Prime Leverage: How Amazon Wields Power in the Technology World," 17 Dec. 2019 His father was a longtime Cleveland streets worker who spent summers laying down asphalt and winters plowing snow. — Sabrina Eaton, cleveland, "Trump adviser Ja’Ron Smith to address hometown crowd at City Club of Cleveland," 3 Dec. 2019 Silver Lake is plowing more money into sports and entertainment, including an investment in Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., which runs sports leagues, hosts fashion events and represents top athletes and entertainers. — Scott Soshnick, Fortune, "Dell. Alibaba. Now Manchester City? Silver Lake’s $500M Bet Brings Tech Expertise to English Premier League," 27 Nov. 2019 A few hours of sleep and some sardines and crackers found us in good spirits, ready to plow snow for another 3 miles, where the trail would drop out of the snowline. — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, "Years later, a loosely planned adventure is remembered for its laughs and lessons," 5 June 2019 Some of the children moved around and pushed the bishops, pawns and knights, while an older boy plowed through the opposing forces with a rogue rook. — Clara Turnage, Arkansas Online, "'Twas just before Christmas ...," 22 Dec. 2019 While efforts are under way to stem losses and regain some of what’s been lost, wetlands around the world continue to be filled in and plowed over. — James Brooks, The Denver Post, "Bringing the world’s buried wetlands back from the dead," 5 Nov. 2019 In agricultural areas, farmers are being taught to plant around existing trees and sprouts, rather than plowing them over. — Aryn Baker / Mbar Toubab, Time, "Can a 4,815-Mile Wall of Trees Help Curb Climate Change in Africa?," 12 Sep. 2019

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