plow

especially British, plough

[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)

   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 byup ).

   The tractor plowed up an acre of trees.

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

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

5. to invest, as capital (often followed byinto ).

   to plow several hundred million into developing new oil fields.

6. to reinvest or reutilize (usually followed byback ).

   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 bythrough ).

   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. plow under

   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

Other Word Forms

• plower noun
• plowable adjective
• plowability noun
• overplow verb
• replow verb (used with object)
• subplow verb
• unplowable adjective
• unplowed 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

“The easiest thing would have been for Robert to plow on until he truly pegged out and by which time the estate probably would have been run into the ground or mismanaged,” Bonneville says.

From Los Angeles Times

Arriving Thursday on Netflix, the film version — not the miniseries some hoped for — offers a more or less straight plow through the book, though streamlined, simplified and softened.

From Los Angeles Times

Time and time again, speeding cars have plowed through Plaza Park’s grassy expanses and vibrant rosebushes, demolishing wood benches and slamming into the beloved 88-year-old fountain.

From Los Angeles Times

Detectives are asking the public for help in locating a man who allegedly shot the driver of a car that plowed into a crowd outside an East Hollywood nightclub last month.

From Los Angeles Times

He plowed what police described as a “compact Nissan sedan” into a crowd of revelers, street vendors and pedestrians, with the vehicle only coming to rest after it slammed into food carts.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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