trowel

[ trou-uhl ]

noun

1. any of various tools having a flat blade with a handle, used for depositing and working mortar, plaster, etc.
2. a similar tool with a curved, scooplike blade, used in gardening for taking up plants, turning up earth, etc.

verb (used with object)

, trow·eled, trow·el·ing or (especially British) trow·elled, trow·el·ling.

1. to apply, shape, smooth, or dig with or as if with a trowel.

trowel

/ ˈtraʊəl /

noun

1. any of various small hand tools having a flat metal blade attached to a handle, used for scooping or spreading plaster or similar materials
2. a similar tool with a curved blade used by gardeners for lifting plants, etc

verb

1. tr to use a trowel on (plaster, soil, etc)

Derived Forms

• ˈtroweller, noun

Other Words From

• trowel·er especially British, trowel·ler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trowel¹

1300–50; Middle English < Old French truelle < Late Latin truella, equivalent to Latin tru ( a ) ladle + -ella -elle

Word History and Origins

Origin of trowel¹

C14: from Old French truele , from Latin trulla a scoop, from trua a stirring spoon

Idioms and Phrases

see under lay it on thick .

Example Sentences

Escaping workers left roof tiles neatly stacked; their pots of lime mortar are still filled, waiting to be used; their trowels and pickaxes remain, although the wooden handles have long since rotted away.

From BBC

This is after all a horror picture, and Stevenson layers on the horror tropes with a trowel, so much so that the movie descends into wretched excessiveness.

From Seattle Times

The team of researchers used a trowel to shave 1 to 2 centimeters of snow from the surface of 130 polar bear prints left near Alaska’s North Slope.

From Science Magazine

Sian Edwards, his wife, used to bang her gardening trowel on the shell to shake off loose earth.

From Washington Times

Mrs Edwards said she used to bang her trowel on the bomb to remove earth after gardening.

From BBC

Related Words

• burrow
• inquire