: to work with a tool with a thin flat blade on a long handle to cultivate, weed, or loosen the earth around plants : to use or work with a hoe (see hoeentry 1) or backhoe
Verb The garden has to be hoed. She was hoeing in the garden all day.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Recommended for ages 3 and up, the set includes a wheelbarrow, shovel, hoe, leaf rake, and a soil rake. Renee Freemon Mulvihill, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2022 Archaeologists, who began excavation in 1981, have found artifacts dating back to 2000-3000 B.C., including polished stone celts (similar to an ax or hoe) and other tools made from stone and bone. Meher Qadri, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2022 On a recent afternoon in his workshop, a courtyard at the back of his home in a working-class district of Cotonou, Ahanhanzo Glèlè molded the clay sculpture of a farmer holding a hoe. Elian Peltier, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Aug. 2022 On a recent afternoon in his workshop, a courtyard at the back of his home in a working-class district of Cotonou, Mr. Ahanhanzo Glèlè molded the clay sculpture of a farmer holding a hoe.New York Times, 21 Aug. 2022 The Pulaski is a firefighting tool with a sharp hoe on one end and an ax-head on the other. Graham Averill, Outside Online, 10 Nov. 2020 The coa, a cross between a hoe and a machete, is used to cut the leaves and separate the core from the rest of the plant. Oj Lima, Bon Appétit, 22 July 2022 Crouching for up to 10 hours between the furrows of a Nebraska field, Fausto Ríos, 17, could trim and separate 70 beets in a single minute with a small hoe. Selene Rivera, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2022 With a small, one-handed hoe, a planter opened a hole in the wet earth, which parted with a squelch.New York Times, 13 July 2022
Verb
And don’t tell In De Goot that hard rock/metal bands have an especially hard row to hoe. Katherine Turman, Variety, 12 Apr. 2022 The new director of the nation's top public health institute is looking at a tough row to hoe.Star Tribune, 14 Feb. 2021 Mackay's Moral: Pray for a good crop but don't forget to hoe. Harvey Mackay, Star Tribune, 13 Dec. 2020 There’s concern he’ll get lost in the shuffle some weeks, and being a rookie receiver isn’t an easy row to hoe amid the demands of a normal season. Cory Bonini, USA TODAY, 27 Aug. 2020 Maintain Dig in blood and bone meal along with compost once the soil dries out a little (to prevent clods); wait for weed sprouts to follow, then hoe them in. Heather Arndt Anderson, Sunset Magazine, 16 Mar. 2020 Other than this is going to be a tough road to hoe for Brian Flores. Albert Breer, SI.com, 9 Sep. 2019 That leaves advocates such as Taddese and Berhe with a tough row to hoe.Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2019 Also, readers should know that Apple faces a long, hard row to hoe in getting websites and apps to sign on to this. Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY, 3 June 2019 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English howe, from Anglo-French houe, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German houwa mattock, houwan to hew — more at hew