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Definition of trowel
: any of various hand tools used to apply, spread, shape, or smooth loose or plastic material; also : a scoop-shaped or flat-bladed garden tool for taking up and setting small plants
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of trowel from the Web
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Cooks use a bricklayer’s trowel, which has more force than a typical spatula.
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Use a weeder with a forked end or a trowel to help get the roots out.
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Max gave us trowels and showed us how to grab a clump and carefully dig out the bulbs.
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The new working class contains many of the traditional blue-collar occupations — truck driver, electrician, plumber — but by and large its members are more likely to wield mops than hammers, and bedpans rather than trowels.
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The site has been backfilled with tons of earth, mosaics have been removed for conservation, trowels and pickaxes and shade tents have been packed away, and the students and staff have moved on.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trowel'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of trowel
Origin and Etymology of trowel
Middle English truel, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin truella, from Latin trulla ladle
trowel
Definition of trowel
troweled
ortrowelled
;troweling
ortrowelling
transitive verb
: to smooth, mix, or apply with or as if with a trowel
troweler
nounFirst Known Use of trowel
circa 1670
TROWEL Defined for English Language Learners
trowel
playDefinition of trowel for English Language Learners
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: a small tool with a curved blade that is used by gardeners for digging holes
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: a small tool with a flat blade that is used for spreading and smoothing mortar or plaster
TROWEL Defined for Kids
trowel
playDefinition of trowel for Students
1 : a small hand tool with a flat blade used for spreading and smoothing mortar or plaster
2 : a small hand tool with a curved blade used by gardeners
Learn More about trowel
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Spanish Central: Translation of trowel Nglish: Translation of trowel for Spanish speakers
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