variants
or shovelling
as in digging
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth
the troops quickly shoveled a trench
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoveling
Wood handles are fine for light work, such as shoveling mulch.
—
Midwest Living, 14 Apr. 2026
Multiple politicians from several countries are shoveling propaganda at an electorate in order to build terror of an enemy that doesn’t exist at all.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Bobby Chang and Reese Hornstein spent Thursday afternoon shoveling out their car in Southie.
—Logan Hall, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Josh Estrella, a spokesman for Mayor Brett Smiley, said that plans to pay nonprofits to organize volunteer shoveling efforts are also in the works.
—Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal, 26 Feb. 2026
An off-duty NYPD cop was pummeled to the ground by a Brooklyn couple during an argument over them shoveling snow onto her property, officials said Tuesday.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
Keep generators 20 feet from homes if power goes out, and take breaks while shoveling snow.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
While others are shoveling snow, scraping ice off their cars and getting all bundled up, Phoenicians are enjoying porch weather.
—Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Boring started shoveling in 2019.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2026
Midwest Living, 14 Apr. 2026
Multiple politicians from several countries are shoveling propaganda at an electorate in order to build terror of an enemy that doesn’t exist at all.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Bobby Chang and Reese Hornstein spent Thursday afternoon shoveling out their car in Southie.
—Logan Hall, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Josh Estrella, a spokesman for Mayor Brett Smiley, said that plans to pay nonprofits to organize volunteer shoveling efforts are also in the works.
—Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal, 26 Feb. 2026
An off-duty NYPD cop was pummeled to the ground by a Brooklyn couple during an argument over them shoveling snow onto her property, officials said Tuesday.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
Keep generators 20 feet from homes if power goes out, and take breaks while shoveling snow.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
While others are shoveling snow, scraping ice off their cars and getting all bundled up, Phoenicians are enjoying porch weather.
—Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Boring started shoveling in 2019.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoveling
Verb
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On the side of the house, another group of students was digging the ditch where the electrical lines would lie.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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Scientists say that shells of reptiles caught by children may have been used as ladles or digging devices by early humans over 100,000 years ago.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But, whatever her feelings for him as a parent, Elisa clearly devoted herself to excavating this episode in Bob’s life.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Called Gangtie Jiliang, the machine is billed as the world’s first boring machine capable of excavating full-face shafts to depths exceeding 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in hard rock, as per the report.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoveling. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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