the amount that can be dug out with or carried on a spade
Word origin
[1635–45; spade1 + -ful]This word is first recorded in the period 1635–45. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: abutment, domesticate, federal, intaglio, recruit-ful is a suffix meaning “full of,” “characterized by” (shameful; beautiful; careful; thoughtful); “tending to,” “able to” (wakeful; harmful); or “as much as will fill” (spoonful)
Examples of 'spadeful' in a sentence
spadeful
Problems began as soon as the first spadeful of earth was dug.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Add a spadeful of garden soil to the top to get the fungi going faster.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
So with a spadeful of attitude, forget that greige is nobody's best colour, and plunge right in.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
So here's my list of other must-have early flowerers, guaranteed to deliver cheeriness by the spadeful.