A shovel is a tool with a broad blade and a long handle, designed for digging, lifting, and moving materials like dirt, snow, or gravel. The blade is usually slightly curved and made of metal, while the handle gives you leverage to push the blade into the ground or scoop up what you need to move.

You use a shovel differently depending on the job. When shoveling snow off a driveway, you push the blade along the ground and lift away the snow. When digging a hole for planting a tree, you step on the top edge of the blade to drive it into the soil, then lever up the dirt. Construction workers, gardeners, and farmers all rely on shovels for different tasks.

The word can also mean the act of moving material with a shovel: you might shovel sand into a wheelbarrow or shovel your driveway after a snowstorm. People sometimes say someone is “shoveling food into their mouth” when they're eating very quickly and messily, comparing the rapid motion to using a shovel.

Humans have used shovels for thousands of years. Early shovels were made from wood, bone, or antlers. The modern metal shovel, stronger and more durable, helped people build cities, dig canals, farm more efficiently, and shape the landscape in ways that have changed civilization.