plow

[ plou ]

noun

1. an agricultural implement used for cutting, lifting, turning over, and partly pulverizing soil.
2. any of various implements resembling or suggesting this, as a kind of plane for cutting grooves or a contrivance for clearing away snow from a road or track.
3. Type Founding. (formerly) an instrument for cutting the groove in the foot of type.
4. Bookbinding. a device for trimming the edges of the leaves by hand.
5. (initial capital letter) Astronomy.
   1. the constellation Ursa Major.
   2. the Big Dipper.

verb (used with object)

1. to turn up (soil) with a plow.
2. to make (a furrow) with a plow.
3. to tear up, cut into, or make a furrow, groove, etc. in (a surface) with or as if with a plow (often followed by up ):

   The tractor plowed up an acre of trees.

4. to clear by the use of a plow, especially a snowplow (sometimes followed by out ):

   The city's work crews were busily plowing the streets after the blizzard.

5. to invest, as capital (often followed by into ):

   to plow several hundred million into developing new oil fields.

6. to reinvest or reutilize (usually followed by back ):

   to plow profits back into new plants and equipment.

7. (of a ship, boat, animal, etc.)
   1. to cleave the surface of (the water):

      beavers plowing the pond.

   2. to make (a way) or follow (a course) in this manner:

      The yacht plowed an easterly course through the choppy Atlantic.

8. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

1. to till the soil or work with a plow.
2. to take plowing in a specified way:

   land that plows easily.

3. to move forcefully through something in the manner of a plow (often followed by through, into, along, etc.):

   The cop plowed through the crowd, chasing after the thief. The car plowed into our house.

4. to proceed in a slow, laborious, and steady manner (often followed by through ):

   The researcher plowed through a pile of reports.

5. to move through water by cleaving the surface:

   a ship plowing through a turbulent sea.

verb phrase

1. 1. to bury under soil by plowing.
   2. to cause to disappear; force out of existence; overwhelm:

      Many mom-and-pop groceries have been plowed under by the big chain stores.

plow

/ plaʊ /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of plough

Derived Forms

• ˈplower, noun

Other Words From

• plowa·ble adjective
• plowa·bili·ty noun
• plower noun
• over·plow verb
• re·plow verb (used with object) replowed replowing
• subplow noun
• sub·plow verb
• un·plowa·ble adjective
• un·plowed adjective
• well-plowed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of plow¹

before 1100; Middle English plouh, plugh ( e ), plough ( e ), Old English plōh; cognate with German Pflug plow

Example Sentences

And without hulking dinosaurs to plow down vegetation and keep forests relatively open, plants grew dense into multitiered habitats that acted as the crucible of mammal evolution.

From Slate

It involved a Hezbollah drone that managed to evade Israel’s vaunted air-defense system and plow into a mess hall at the base.

From Los Angeles Times

I then watched the knucklehead plow into a wall on the shoulder, bolt from the car, run through traffic and leap over the center divider.

From Los Angeles Times

“That starts to get in your head a little bit, but if you don’t search for it, then you can kind of just plow forward and not let it worry you,” Bouman, 35, said.

From Los Angeles Times

The younger Rodriquez began delivering water to field workers when he was 6, earning 10 cents a day, and by the next year was making a dollar a day working in the fields behind an ox-drawn plow.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bulldoze
• cultivate
• rake
• reap
• shove
• smash