variants
or shovelling
as in excavating
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth
the troops quickly shoveled a trench
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of shoveling
Videos posted to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu showed hikers shoveling snow off buried tents in blustery whiteout conditions.
—
Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Hayes is now a long ways away from his teenage years shoveling driveways, and his early career as a postal-service worker.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2025
Physical tasks like gardening, shoveling the driveway, washing the car, and cleaning the house can get your heart rate up and count as a fat-burning activity.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 27 Aug. 2025
Amid hunting for clues on the case, Tom hunches over his desk, lazily shoveling sausage-and-onion sandwiches into his mouth.
—EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
The 1920s briefcase is wide open, arm scraping across the table, shoveling it into the briefcase.
—Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Walking briskly, shovelling snow, or cycling in a winter coat can lead to overheating.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2025
There's truly nothing like licking that paper lid, then shoveling that tiny tongue depressor into a child-sized serving of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2025
Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Hayes is now a long ways away from his teenage years shoveling driveways, and his early career as a postal-service worker.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2025
Physical tasks like gardening, shoveling the driveway, washing the car, and cleaning the house can get your heart rate up and count as a fat-burning activity.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 27 Aug. 2025
Amid hunting for clues on the case, Tom hunches over his desk, lazily shoveling sausage-and-onion sandwiches into his mouth.
—EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025
The 1920s briefcase is wide open, arm scraping across the table, shoveling it into the briefcase.
—Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Walking briskly, shovelling snow, or cycling in a winter coat can lead to overheating.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2025
There's truly nothing like licking that paper lid, then shoveling that tiny tongue depressor into a child-sized serving of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoveling
Verb
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Pettigrew said the team will use drones, sonar and magnetometers to examine the site before probing the sediment and eventually excavating it using a hydraulic dredge.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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These connections raise the possibility that people were following camels across the desert on winter migrations, says archaeologist and study co-author Ceri Shipton, who was excavating the site, known as Jebel Misma, when his team spotted a spectacular caravan of camel carvings on May 14, 2023.—
Martin J. Kernan,
Scientific American,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To deter digging pests, gardeners can use chicken wire, plant more bulbs than needed, or choose larger bulbs like daffodils.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
10 Oct. 2025
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But digging deeper, the latest fundraising haul offers a glimpse into the race’s key players and the state of the election to replace Hancock in Austin.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoveling. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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