PICK-AND-SHOVEL Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

pick-and-shovel

adjective

ˈpik-ən(d)-ˈshə-vəl

Definition of pick-and-shovel

as in challenging

requiring considerable physical or mental effort she loves coming up with the "big idea" but hates the actual pick-and-shovel work of starting a new business

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pick-and-shovel Since then, investors have treated the industrial stock as a pick-and-shovel AI play instead of a lagging conglomerate. — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 2 July 2026 Investors have an insatiable appetite to fund the pick-and-shovel businesses underpinning data-center buildouts and Ford’s version of an AI pivot shows that even staid companies like the 122-year-old giant aren’t above the fray. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 14 May 2026 So far with Big Tech spending at an all-time high—fueled by a fear of being left behind—the pick-and-shovel approach has been paying dividends. — Peter Andersen, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pick-and-shovel

Adjective

These renovations have made Bliss Matcha & Beyond’s move less challenging, according to Gorski.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2026
Ahead of a challenging midterm election, Republicans have seized an opportunity to castigate their opponents as extremists after democratic socialists won recent Democratic congressional primaries in New York and Colorado.

— Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 July 2026

Definition of challenging

Adjective

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

— Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Patrick Cantlay made a little noise in an otherwise quiet year for the American with five birdies in 10 holes and then a collection of tough par saves at the end that felt just as valuable.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026

Definition of tough

Adjective

Any new toll roads would have to make practical sense and survive rigorous feasibility studies.

— Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 July 2026
Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products.

— Liz Knueven, CNBC, 10 July 2026

Definition of rigorous

Adjective

Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson star as two young men who sign up for a physically demanding and deathly competition led by Mark Hamill’s Major.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 10 July 2026
The leading Chinese models still trail the frontier on the most demanding reasoning work, a gap this publication walked through when DeepSeek cut prices in April.

— Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of demanding

Adjective

Not long afterward, he was elected president on a platform deeply hostile to the West and its liberal ideology, and especially to the United States — threatening a hard fight in the event of war.

— Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
That’s hard to imagine of a president who uses the office to promote and prosper from his own brand name.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026

Definition of hard

Adjective

England faces a formidable challenge against Mexico in the FIFA World Cup knockout round, playing at Estadio Azteca, 7,220 feet above sea level.

— Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
However, there is arguably no matchup currently more daunting than a game against this formidable France side.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 4 July 2026

Definition of formidable

Adjective

Anticipation for the milestone holiday has been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own.

— Steven Sloan, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
The study authors caution that the model should be applied carefully to more complicated perovskites in which structural changes and dielectric effects occur simultaneously.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 5 July 2026

Definition of complicated

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pick

pick-and-shovel

pick at

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“Pick-and-shovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pick-and-shovel. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of pick-and-shovel

adjective

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