What does shoveling mean?
Shoveling is the present participle of "shovel" and is also used as a gerund noun for the activity itself. Its literal meaning is the use of a shovel to dig, clear, lift, or move loose materials such as soil, snow, sand, and coal. In extended or figurative use, it describes handling or transferring something rapidly and in bulk, as in eating quickly or processing large amounts of information. The word often suggests sustained physical effort: shoveling snow, digging a trench, or loading soil into a vehicle. Its literal use is straightforward, while the figurative sense can convey speed, abundance, informality, or sometimes impatience. Shoveling belongs to ordinary practical vocabulary rather than specialist terminology, and the spelling varies between standard American English, "shoveling," and traditional British English, "shovelling."
To use a shovel to dig, clear, lift, or move loose material.
"They shoveled gravel across the path."
In figurative use, the verb can imply rapid, unceremonious, or bulk handling of something.
The activity or act of using a shovel to dig, clear, or move material.
"Shoveling snow after a heavy storm required several hours."
This gerund noun is normally uncountable and has no standard plural form.
The gerund noun is normally used in the singular or without an article; plural forms are not standard.
"Shoveling snow after a heavy storm required several hours."
The word's ancestor was not an action but an Old English tool: long before trench-digging became mechanized, people moved the earth one shovelful at a time.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does shoveling come from?
The present-participle and gerund form "shoveling" was developed from the English verb "shovel." The word "shovel" comes through Middle English from Old English scōfa, a Germanic word for a shovel or scoop, and has close relatives including Dutch schep and German Schaufel. The -ing ending follows the usual English pattern for forming a present participle and gerund.
How shoveling is actually used
British English traditionally uses the spelling "shovelling," while the one-l spelling "shoveling" is standard in American English and is also accepted in Britain. The noun use is normally uncountable, and figurative uses such as rapidly eating food can sound informal or mildly disparaging.
Easily confused with shoveling
Shoveling uses a scoop-shaped tool to lift and move loose material, whereas shoving means pushing something directly with the hands or body.