plow

noun \ ˈplau̇ \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: plow in a Sentence

Definition of plow

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

See plow defined for English-language learners

See plow defined for kids

Recent Examples of plow from the Web

Except for the steady grunt of plows in the distance, the world echoed in decibels of silence.

— beck dorey-stein, Philly.com, "Charles Barkley was star-struck before interviewing president Obama. A stenographer from Narberth calmed him down," 2 July 2018
Suddenly, the birds are before you, 4-foot-tall creatures with 6-foot wing spans, in nests perched no higher than the top of a utility pole or in fields scrounging after plows.

— l. kim tan, BostonGlobe.com, "In Latvia, we got carried away with storks," 26 June 2018
Arborists can also use a vibratory plow to actively separate the intermingled root structure, although this can be costly.

— thomas jewell, cleveland.com, "South Euclid Tree Commissioner hosts oak wilt seminar Arbor Day weekend," 17 Apr. 2018
More than 100 garbage trucks, with front plows mounted on them, are ready to be deployed if needed.

— rick barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Hazardous driving conditions Saturday night as snow, wind will cause slippery roads, limited visibility," 1 Feb. 2018
Come and see a fire truck, an ambulance, a plow truck, a loader, an ice cream truck and many more.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Enfield Edition," 2 July 2018
He had been born to a hardscrabble farming family in 1901, and to him horses were strictly beasts of burden, the precursors to cars and tractors, intended to pull plows and wagons and carry folks into town.

— peter gwin, WSJ, "The Horses That Changed History," 19 June 2018
But using emergency departments to create access to health care is like putting a snow plow on a Porsche.

— paul seward, STAT, "Emergency departments: the ‘chewing gum and duct tape’ holding together U.S. health care," 3 July 2018
For example, Cox reveals that farmers had to store their plows indoors.

— randy dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, "'The Bone and Sinew of the Land' restores a lost chapter of US history," 25 June 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of plow

Middle English, from Old English plōh hide of land; akin to Old High German pfluog plow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 12th 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

plow

verb

Definition of plow

plowed; plowing; plows

transitive verb

1 a : 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 into

plow money into stocks

intransitive verb

1 a : to use a plow

b : to undergo plowing

2 a : 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

—

plowable

play \ˈplau̇-ə-bəl\ adjective

—

plower

play \ˈplau̇(-ə)r\ noun

See plow defined for English-language learners

Examples of plow in a Sentence

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 of plow from the Web

Garza Palacios drove up on the scene, swerved to avoid their vehicles and plowed into them on the shoulder.

— ryan gaydos, Fox News, "Guatemalan national pays $280 fine for negligent driving in crash that killed FBI agent, fire marshal," 10 July 2018
Such entities have the billions in revenue that can be plowed into R&D of custom chips without the need for immediate and obvious return on investment.

— andy patrizio, Ars Technica, "The AI revolution has spawned a new chips arms race," 9 July 2018
The subways slowed down markedly in 1995, after a J train plowed into the back of an M train on the Williamsburg Bridge, killing the operator and injuring forty-five passengers.

— william finnegan, The New Yorker, "Can Andy Byford Save the Subways?," 2 July 2018
There was the dramatic play at the plate to end the 2003 National League Division series when the Giants' J.T. Snow plowed into Marlins catcher Pudge Rodriguez.

— clark spencer, miamiherald, "Payback pitches, ejections, culminates in Marlins loss to Giants," 20 June 2018
Good government is often unglamorous stuff—fixing pot holes, plowing snow, collecting trash.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Why Trump's 'Space Force' Won't — and Shouldn't — Happen," 19 June 2018
That's a myth that is prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry that drugs are so expensive because companies are taking all that money and plowing it back into research and development to discover the new drugs of tomorrow.

— jen christensen, CNN, "The 5 most expensive drugs in the United States," 11 May 2018
Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey stated in a news release Saturday that four people had died since Thursday, when the snow first started, in incidents related to shoveling, blowing or plowing snow.

— carrie napoleon, Post-Tribune, "4 deaths related to shoveling, blowing or plowing in Lake County; area still digging out after snowstorm," 11 Feb. 2018
The bus then jumped the curb, plowing through three pedestrians and a wading pool before striking a home on the 9800 block of Frankford Avenue and coming to a stop, police said.

— katherine nails, Philly.com, "Police ID man killed when SEPTA bus crashed into home, investigation continues," 6 July 2018