hoe1
/həʊ
/noun
A long-handled gardening tool with a thin metal blade, used mainly for weeding.In a sandy field of half-grown cassava plants, a group of 30 farmers were fighting a plague of locusts with long-handled weeding hoes and improvised brushes....
- Traditional garden hoes with updated design refinements make weeding easier while minimally disturbing the soil.
- Winter weeds are wimps, so you can weed with a hoe instead of a spade.
verb (hoes, hoeing, hoed)
1 [with object] Use a hoe to dig (earth) or thin out or dig up (plants).In the study's first year, wheat plants were hoed out in February to the appropriate winterkill levels....
- I start by hoeing a trench eight inches or so deep.
- The idea is that after harvesting you will not need to plough or hoe the land for the new planting season.
2 [no object] (hoe in) Australian /NZ informal Eat eagerly.However, given that it was Mother's Day, I couldn't really start hoeing into her meal, now could I?...
- Here's a story to think about as you hoe into lunch this afternoon.
- To them, it tastes as good as medium rare steak and they hoe into it with just as much glee.
2.1 (hoe into) Attack or criticize.They're all at hoeing into Natasha, or Meg, depending on personal allegiances....
- They wanted to hoe into him and he had to be put in a police car for his own protection
Derivatives
hoer
- If you are not a hoer, you are not a gardener, and it will be a disaster.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French houe, of Germanic origin; related to German Haue, also to hew.
Rhymes
hoe2
noun
Variant spelling of ho1.