hoe
UK/həʊ/US/hoʊ/
hoe noun: an agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or removing weeds by hand. Also the alternative spelling of ho.
Noun (1)
hoe (plural hoes)
- An agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or removing weeds by hand.
- For their organic row crops, they do the weeding with hoes. They get in there often, but it goes fast, and the weeds never get ahead.
- It was obvious that it consisted of several blows to the head from the hoe.2009, TRU TV, 28 March
- Synonyms:
- hand hoe
- Any of several implements or machines usually called by their more specific names, for example, backhoe.
- The grading is on hold. In the meantime, get that hoe over here and work on this utility trench. [Instructions issued to a worker who will operate a backhoe]
Verb
hoe (third-person singular simple present hoes, present participle hoeing, simple past and past participle hoed)
- To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool.
- to hoe the earth in a garden
- Every year, I hoe my garden for aeration.
- To clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe.
- to hoe corn
- The first thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions. His back was turned towards Peter, and beyond him was the gate!1902, Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Noun (2)
hoe (plural hoes)
- A piece of land that juts out towards the sea; a promontory.
Noun (3)
hoe (plural hoes)
- The horned or piked dogfish, Squalus acanthias.
Proper noun (1) capitalized: Hoe
Hoe
Proper noun (2) capitalized: Hoe
Hoe (plural Hoes)
- A surname.
Also used as
hoe is also the alternative spelling of ho.
hoe meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Assamese
hoe in Hindi
- agricultural tool
- कुदाल kudāl
- to use the gardening tool
- कुदाल kudāl
hoe in Tamil
- agricultural tool
- மண்வெட்டி maṇveṭṭi
hoe in Malayalam
- agricultural tool
- മൺവെട്ടി maṇveṭṭi, തൂമ്പ tūmpa, കൈക്കോട്ട് kaikkōṭṭ
hoe in Assamese
- agricultural tool
- কোৰ kür
More languagesFewer languages
- hoe in Tagalog
- asada, asarol
- hoe in Arabic
- مِعْزَقة miʕzaqa
- hoe in Malay
- cangkul, pangkur, pacul, cak
- hoe in Persian
- کجبیل kaj-bil
- hoe in Thai
- จอบ jɔ̀ɔp
- hoe in Vietnamese
- cuốc
Examples of hoe in a sentence
- Labour has begun to redress the balance, but there is still a long row to hoe.
- “They have a long row to hoe for recovery,” said Richard Koss.
- The hoe banged against a spade on the wall, making a loud "ching!"
Synonyms of hoe
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- calico queen
- callet
- cat
- chippy
- chromo
- cocotte
- comfort girl
- comfort woman
- creature of the night
- daughter of joy
- escort
- fille de joie
- floozie
- fornicatrix
- geebag
- good-time girl
- GRO
- 'ho
- hoer
- hook
- hooker
- hustler
- Japayuki-san
- karayuki-san
- lady of leisure
- lady of light virtue
- lady of pleasure
- lady of the evening
- lady of the night
- loose woman
Forms of hoe
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | hoes |
| alternative form | ho |
| alternative form | 'ho |
| alternative form | hough |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | hoes |
| present participle | hoeing |
| past participle | hoed |
| past | hoed |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Hoes |
Origin of hoe
From Middle English howe, from Anglo-Norman houe, from Frankish *hauwā, derivative of Frankish *hauwan (“to hew”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną. More at hew.
From a non-rhotic pronunciation of whore.
From Middle English hough, hogh, from Old English hōh.
Words formed from hoe
- art hoe
- bros before hoes
- captain save a hoe
- hoebag
- hoeflation
- hoeism
- hoejabi
- hoes before bros
- scare the hoes
- you can't turn a hoe into a housewife
- hoe around
- action hoe
- adze hoe
- adz hoe
- backhoe
- clam hoe
- collineal hoe
- collinear hoe
- double hoe
- draw hoe
- drill hoe
- Dutch hoe
- eye hoe
- flower hoe
- fork hoe
- grab hoe
- grubbing hoe
- grub hoe
- hand hoe
- hoecake
- hoedad
- hoedown
- hoe-farming
- hoelike
- hoe nightshade
- hoop hoe
- horse hoe
- Italian hoe
- mortar hoe
- pattern hoe
- Paxton hoe
- prong hoe
- rakehoe
- ridging hoe
- scuffle hoe
- swivel hoe
- swoe
- Warren hoe
- wheel hoe
- hard row to hoe
- hoe in
- hoe into
- hoe one's row
- long row to hoe
- row to hoe
- tough row to hoe
- unhoed
Phrases with hoe
Words that rhyme with hoe
Questions about hoe
- What does hoe mean?
- Hoe means an agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or removing weeds by hand.
- What is hoe in Hindi?
- Hoe in Hindi is कुदाल (kudāl). See Hoe meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is hoe?
- Hoe can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce hoe?
- Hoe is pronounced /həʊ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of hoe?
- The plural of hoe is hoes.
Words near hoe in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hoe (page history and authors); Hoe (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-hoe.ogg.
Cite this entry: “hoe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hoe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.