Synonyms of shoveling

shoveling

verb

variants or shovelling

present participle of shovel

as in digging

to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth

the troops quickly shoveled a trench

Synonyms & Similar Words

• digging
• excavating
• dredging
• grubbing
• scooping
• burrowing
• clawing
• delving
• mining
• spading
• quarrying
• digging in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filling (in)
• smoothing (out or over)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shoveling

Earlier this month, bulldozers were videoed uprooting trees and shoveling dirt as wild animals trotted by. — Ashley Killough, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

Blücher, who eventually became a popular philosophy lecturer at Bard College, got a job shovelling chemicals in a New Jersey factory. — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

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, 2 Aug. 2026

When commercial extraction began in the 1840s, workers were not simply shoveling loose bird droppings. — Edward D. Melillo, Fortune, 27 July 2026

With the work now being migration, most programs are still shoveling, counting tasks and missing the structure. — Maman Ibrahim, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Spielberg didn’t film those terrifying closeups of the shark – like when Jaws pops up as Brody is shoveling the bloody chump slick in the water — until Day 92. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 22 June 2026

On summer breaks from university, Gilmore also worked at the port, painting buildings, shoveling coal on a steamship and crewing on harbor boats. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 11 June 2026

This can include flattening the hill, raking or shoveling the mound, or even using a garden hose to flood the area. — Cori Sears, The Spruce, 4 June 2026