pick-and-shovel

adjective

ˈpik-ən(d)-ˈshə-vəl How to pronounce pick-and-shovel (audio)
Definition of pick-and-shovelnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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
  1. challenging
  2. difficult
  3. tough
  4. rigorous
  5. demanding
  6. hard
  7. formidable
  8. complicated
Adjective
  • Eric Loucks, the director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown, pointed out that a person can have a challenging experience during meditation and still find their overall meditation practice to be beneficial.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
  • For something more hands-on, Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville has a challenging kart circuit where karts can reach 50 mph or more.
    — Chris Teague, AJC.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of challenging
Adjective
  • Being undefeated after a trio of difficult opening matches can only be seen as a positive, even if Newcastle’s obvious shortcomings require addressing if that run is to be prolonged.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Engineers need flight data on propulsion, aerodynamics, thermal management, guidance and other subsystems under conditions that are difficult to reproduce on the ground.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of difficult
Adjective
  • Space-grade electronics will cost more, and the ball’s shell—made from a material tough enough to roll over steel shards and withstand minus 184 °C temperatures—has never been evaluated in lunar extremes.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Democratic leaders face tough decisions on where to spend limited party resources to win the Senate majority.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of tough
Adjective
  • Seager's team is providing the AFN, along with their ongoing, rigorous science preparation.
    — Leonard David, Space.com, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The 2022 Nature Biotechnology review urged rigorous clinical testing, and later reviews continued to flag reliability and standardization issues.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of rigorous
Adjective
  • That night, somewhere between a racist stranger, a free dessert, my girlfriend publicly shaming a man in a Mediterranean restaurant and our demanding cat, the City of Angels started to feel like home.
    — Mayur Chauhan, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • And the longer or more demanding the workout, the more important such fuel becomes.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of demanding
Adjective
  • Will his veteran line trust him to have the answers when things get hard?
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The death of country music, movie, theme park and, frankly, all-around icon Dolly Parton hit a lot of people hard.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of hard
Adjective
  • Soldier Field and Wrigley Field will have formidable new competition.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Importantly, such research demonstrated the formidable risk associated with self-criticism for postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as for disruptions in mother-child communication, which might exacerbate postpartum psychopathology.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of formidable
Adjective
  • Downs got a complicated Ohio State defense on the right page, made checks and took away passing lanes by consistently being in the right place.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Hossain ties up the fate of her complicated protagonist with a neat bow, leaving too many unanswered questions about the backstory and topics raised.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of complicated

Browse Nearby Words

pick
pick-and-shovel
pick at
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Cite this Entry

“Pick-and-shovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pick-and-shovel. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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