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Meaning & use

snowplough

noun, verb·EverydayBritish

Last updated

UK/ˈsnəʊ ˌplaʊ/
US/ˈsnoʊ ˌplaʊ/

Meanings

  1. nouncountableBritish

    A vehicle or machine with a large blade at the front that pushes snow off a road or railway.

    Grammar: A countable noun: the snowplough cleared the street.

    Patterns

    • a snowplough clears something

    A snowplough went down our road at five in the morning.

    The snowplough left a high bank of snow in front of my garage.

    Trains were delayed while a snowplough cleared the line.

  2. nouncountablesportBritish

    A skiing position in which the ski tips are pointed together to slow down or stop.

    Grammar: Often used with 'in' or 'into': go into a snowplough.

    Patterns

    • in a snowplough
    • a snowplough turn

    The instructor told the beginners to make a snowplough to slow down.

    She came down the slope in a snowplough, very carefully.

    A snowplough turn is the first turn most skiers learn.

  3. verbintransitivesportBritish

    Slow or turn on skis by pointing the tips together in a wedge shape.

    Grammar: No object: he snowploughed down the hill.

    Patterns

    • snowplough down something

    The children snowploughed carefully down the nursery slope.

    I snowploughed most of the way because the snow was icy.

    If you feel you are going too fast, snowplough to a stop.

Word forms

pluralsnowploughs
third person singularsnowploughs
past tensesnowploughed
-ing formsnowploughing

Common combinations

snowplough driver
The snowplough driver worked all night during the storm.
snowplough turn
Practise your snowplough turn before trying a steeper hill.
call out the snowploughs
The council called out the snowploughs before the road froze.
stuck behind a snowplough
We were stuck behind a snowplough for half an hour.
snowplough position
Keep your knees bent in the snowplough position.

Synonyms and how they differ

snowplow
Snowplow is the American spelling of the same word, with no difference in meaning.
snowblower
A snowblower throws snow aside with a spinning mechanism instead of pushing it with a blade, and is usually smaller.
wedge
In skiing, wedge is the more modern teaching term for the snowplough position.

Word family

plough noun
a farm tool for turning soil, and the root of this word
snow noun
frozen white flakes that fall from the sky
snowploughing noun
the act of using a snowplough or the ski braking position

Commonly confused: snowplough or snowshoe?

snowplough vs snowshoe

A snowshoe is a flat frame worn on the foot for walking in deep snow, not a machine.

Practice

The beginner skier slowed down by pointing the tips of her skis together in a ___.

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