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plow

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A device pulled through the ground to break it open into furrows for planting.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

plow
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈplaʊ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. American spelling

    A device pulled through the ground in order to break it open into furrows for planting.

verb

  1. American spelling

    To use a plough on soil to prepare for planting.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (American spelling) A device pulled through the ground in order to break it open into furrows for planting.

Used this way, plow is a word tied to one variety of English that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. Most speakers understand it but seldom reach for it.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Regional
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Uncommon in everyday speech

Usage note

Mainly used in American English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use plow

  • “The ship plowed through the water.”verb
  • “Farmer Jones plowed his east field last week.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Device / farm

iron plowchisel plow

Break

steel plow

Other combinations

snow plowplow layerplow zone

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • plowingnounInflected form

    Tilling the land with a plow.

  • plowedadjectiveInflected form

    Broken and turned over with a plow.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • plow aheadverbCompound term

    Proceed (with a plan of action).

  • plow horsenounCompound term

    A horse used to pull a plow.

  • lister plownounCompound term

    Moldboard plow with a double moldboard designed to move dirt to either side of a central furrow.

  • moldboard plownounCompound term

    Plow that has a moldboard.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: device pulled through the ground in order to break it open into furrows for planting

ploughturn

verb

Sense: to use a plough on soil to prepare for planting

address

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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.