hoe
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hohIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
when not otherwise specified
A tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
when not otherwise specified
An agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or removing weeds by hand.
Any of various tools for scraping, scratching, digging, or stirring soil or other materials.
Any of several implements or machines usually called by their more specific names, for example, backhoe.
A piece of land that juts out towards the sea; a promontory.
verb
ambitransitive
Dig with a hoe
“He is hoeing the flower beds.”
ambitransitive
To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool.
transitive
To clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe.
usslang
To act as a ho, to prostitute.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
Used this way, hoe is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use hoe
- “He is hoeing the flower beds.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.