mattock

IPA/ˈmætək/
IPA/ˈmætək/

mattock — noun

1. a farming or gardening tool with a long wooden handle and a metal head that has

1.nounC1
Definition

a farming or gardening tool with a long wooden handle and a metal head that has a flat blade on one side and a pointed or chisel-shaped end on the other, used for breaking up hard soil or cutting through roots

Example

Ana used a mattock to break up the dry, rocky soil in her vegetable garden.

mattock + to break up [material] for breaking hard ground

The old farmer pulled a thick root from the ground with his mattock.

Common collocations
  • swing a mattock
  • use a mattock
  • sharp blade of a mattock
  • wooden handle of a mattock
Synonyms
  • pickaxe

    has a pointed end on both sides of the head, unlike a mattock which has one flat blade and one pointed end

  • grub hoe

    another name for the same tool, used mainly in American English

  • adze

    a cutting tool with a curved blade set at a right angle to the handle, used for shaping wood rather than digging

Usage Note

A mattock is heavier and more robust than a common hoe, designed for tough ground and root cutting rather than light weeding. In American English it is sometimes called a 'grub hoe'.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A mattock, pickaxe, hoe, and adze all serve as hand tools with long handles, but their heads differ in design and purpose. A pickaxe has two pointed or chisel-shaped ends and is mainly used for breaking rock or hard-packed ground. A hoe has a thin, flat blade set at an angle for shallow weeding and shaping soil — lighter work than a mattock handles. An adze has a curved blade set at a right angle to the handle, designed for smoothing or shaping wood, not for digging. A grub hoe is simply another name for a mattock, used especially in American English for the same kind of heavy digging and root-cutting work. If you need to clear a field of stubborn roots, a mattock (or grub hoe) is the right choice; for breaking stones, use a pickaxe.

pickaxehoe ↗adze ↗grub hoe

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • deep into
  • hard at

Phrases

  • the blade of a mattock
  • the handle of a mattock
  • swing a mattock

Prepositions

  • with a mattock
  • using a mattock

Etymology

Old EnglishGermanicEnglish

The word 'mattock' comes from Old English 'mattuc', which is related to similar words in other Germanic languages, such as Old High German 'medela' meaning 'plow'. It has been used for over a thousand years to describe this digging tool, with the spelling shifting from 'mattuc' to 'mattock' by the late Middle English period.