How to Use shovel in a Sentence

shovel

1 of 2 noun
  • He was not hit by a shovel or a broom.
    — Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026
  • He was not hit by a shovel or a broom.
    — Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 18 May 2026
  • Have the shovels and ice melt ready.
    — Tammie Souza, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Have the shovels and ice melt ready.
    — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • But don't put the shovel away just yet.
    — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Once slush forms, use a shovel to scoop the ice away.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Here's a shovel that won't let him down even when the snow piles up.
    — Mark Stock, Men's Health, 3 Dec. 2022
  • His time with a shovel hasn’t changed the world, or even his own life.
    — E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2024
  • It could get pulled out by a metal shovel.
    — ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
  • All of the digging had to be done by shovels, by hand.
    — Sooji Nam, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
  • The victim was found dead in his home next to a bloody shovel.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Then, slide your shovel beneath the plant roots and lift them up.
    — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 16 June 2026
  • What happens to the picks and shovels when the gold rush goes bust?
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
  • There's still a lot of red tape that gets in the way of shovels hitting dirt.
    — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Dig down about 6 inches with a shovel to loosen the soil in bare spots.
    — David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 3 Apr. 2026
  • There was no way anybody was gonna sink a shovel into that.
    — Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The East Bay bike path was one of those shovel-ready projects.
    — Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Both men marveled at the surfeit of shovels stacked by the door.
    — Howard Halle, ARTnews.com, 10 Apr. 2026
  • There are lots of shovel-ready projects, lots of ribbons to be cut over the next two years.
    — NBC News, 8 Jan. 2023
  • Remove snow with a plastic snow shovel or a push broom.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Some dug into the dirt with shovels and others with bare hands.
    — Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Use a shovel to clear the slush off the driveway and any walking paths.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2026
  • But a heavy-duty garden shovel isn't the best choice for your car.
    — Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2026
  • His hand extends toward her, a shovel in the air.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Meanwhile, more picks and shovels are being sold all the time.
    — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Once my bag is packed full, the shovel blade sits on top of everything else.
    — Anthony Walsh, Outside, 26 Feb. 2026
  • One of them was holding a shovel, forced by his captors to dig his own grave.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Do not use anything hard (like a shovel) that can cause scratching.
    — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2025
  • Be on the lookout for a giant shovel.
    — Audience Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Oh, the farmer is handing us pitchforks and shovels.
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside, 20 Oct. 2025

shovel

2 of 2 verb
  • I have to shovel the driveway.
  • I had to shovel for an hour to clear the driveway.
  • The snow was so deep we had to shovel a path to our front door.
  • Stop shoveling food into your mouth.
  • He is outside shoveling snow.
  • How old is too old to shovel snow?
    — Greta Cross, USA Today, 21 Jan. 2026
  • How old is too old to shovel snow?
    — Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 3 Feb. 2026
  • How old is too old to shovel snow?
    — Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Want to shovel out a couple of snow fun facts?
    — Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 23 Jan. 2026
  • How old is too old to be shoveling snow?
    — Manahil Ahmad, The Providence Journal, 25 Jan. 2026
  • Snow should not be shoveled or moved in any way into the streets.
    — Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024
  • To weed, to paint, to rake the leaves To shovel all that snow.
    — Pat Myers, Washington Post, 1 Dec. 2022
  • What should be in your kit How old is too old to shovel snow?
    — Isa Almeida, Oklahoman, 23 Jan. 2026
  • That’s a lot of mouths to feed and coats to brush and manure to shovel.
    — Mary Carole McCauley, baltimoresun.com, 17 Nov. 2020
  • Across the northern states, a spoon means there will be lots of snow to shovel.
    — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 11 Nov. 2020
  • Crews were seen shoveling it away.
    — Kris Habermehl, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
  • My neighbors had shovelled their stoops.
    — Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2026
  • So, please shovel my snow, neighbor!
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The less glamorous side — the poop shoveled, the low wages — is rarely shown.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
  • If there is a lot to shovel, break it up into sections.
    — Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Who is at risk for heart attacks from shoveling snow?
    — John Shumway, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Wood handles are fine for light work, such as shoveling mulch.
    — Midwest Living, 14 Apr. 2026
  • In the episode, the girl was seen helping in the garden, shovel in hand.
    — Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2023
  • My new favorite shoe for disc golf, work, shoveling light now.
    — Men's Health, 21 Feb. 2023
  • The victim, it should be noted, was the one who’d shoveled the spot.
    — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Avoid twisting to throw snow sideways, try to shovel snow straight ahead.
    — Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t use metal tools to shovel your driveway.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Don't throw out your back while throwing out the snow - here are some tips on how to shovel snow the right way!
    — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Brigades of men in one block were trying to shovel it into the gutter.
    — Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Then came the soil in a big pungent pile, demanding to be shoveled.
    — Ronda Kaysen, New York Times, 8 May 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shovel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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