plow

/plaʊ/

/plaʊ/

Other forms: plowed; plowing; plows

A plow is a large tool used for farming. A farmer drives or pulls a plow across a field to prepare it for planting.

The large blades of a plow break up the earth, cutting and turning it so it's loose and ready to be planted with seeds. When you operate a plow, you can say that you plow. Boats can plow through water, too — in fact, anything that moves forcibly forward also plows: a car plows through traffic, and figuratively, a student plows through her homework.

Definitions of plow

1. noun

   a farm tool having one or more heavy blades to break the soil and cut a furrow prior to sowing
   synonyms: plough

   types:

   bull tongue

   a heavy plow with a single wide blade; used chiefly in cotton fields

   moldboard plow, mouldboard plough

   plow that has a moldboard

   lister, lister plough, lister plow, middle buster, middlebreaker

   moldboard plow with a double moldboard designed to move dirt to either side of a central furrow

   type of:

   tool

   an implement used in the practice of a vocation
2. verb

   break and turn over earth especially with a plow
   “Farmer Jones plowed his east field last week”

   synonyms: plough, turn

   types:

   ridge

   plough alternate strips by throwing the furrow onto an unploughed strip

   disk, harrow

   draw a harrow over (land)

   type of:

   till

   work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation
3. verb

   move in a way resembling that of a plow cutting into or going through the soil
   “The ship plowed through the water”

   synonyms: plough

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
4. verb

   act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
   synonyms: address, cover, deal, handle, treat

   do by, handle, treat

   interact in a certain way

   comprehend, cover, embrace, encompass

   include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory

   types:

   theologise, theologize

   treat from a theological viewpoint or render theological in character

   discourse, discuss, talk about

   consider or examine in speech or writing

   descant

   talk at great length about something of one's interest

   talk shop

   discuss matters that are related to work

   type of:

   broach, initiate, moot

   bring up a topic for discussion