Backhoe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbæk.həʊ/

Definitions

1. A piece of construction equipment that combines a front loader and a back-mounted excavator for versatile digging and lifting operations
2. This machinery integrates a digging attachment at the rear and a loading bucket at the front, facilitating various earth-moving tasks
3. A heavy machine that features a digging arm on one side and a scooping bucket on the other, designed for various excavation and material handling jobs

Etymology: A backhoe is named for what it does with its bucket: the bucket is mounted on the arm so that it pulls earth toward the operator, digging backward rather than pushing forward as a plain shovel or a bulldozer blade does. The word combines "back" with "hoe," the long-established hand tool with a flat blade used for breaking up soil and cutting weeds. The compound describes a digging action that a hoe performs by drawing the blade toward the body, and the machine borrows that motion. The result is a plain, descriptive compound rather than a coinage with a famous author or a dramatic shift in meaning. The word is built from two ordinary English words, and its sense has stayed close to the literal picture of a hoe worked backward. The machine name is an example of a tool-and-action combination, the same pattern found in words like "steamroller" and "bulldozer."

Synonyms: excavator, digger, loader, tractor, earthmover