pickaxe
/'pikæks/ Cách viết khác : (pickaxe) /'pikæks/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A heavy hand tool with a long wooden handle and a curved iron or steel head that is pointed at both ends, used for breaking up hard ground, rock, or other solid materials.
Usage
- The pickaxe is primarily used for manual labor tasks such as mining, digging, quarrying, and construction.
- It is swung to drive the pointed ends into a material to break it apart.
- It is a common tool in archaeology, gardening (for breaking hard soil), and emergency rescue operations.
Examples
- Noun:
- The miner swung his pickaxe to break the coal seam.
- Archaeologists carefully used a pickaxe to loosen the compacted earth around the artifact.
- We need a pickaxe to break through this frozen ground.
Advanced Usage
- "To wield a pickaxe": To use or swing a pickaxe.
- It takes strength and skill to wield a pickaxe effectively all day.
- Metaphorical Use: Can describe a strenuous, laborious effort to break through a difficult problem or barrier.
- The negotiations were like using a pickaxe to break down a wall of mistrust.
Variants and Related Words
- Pick (noun): A simpler, often lighter, version of a pickaxe, sometimes with one pointed end and one chisel end. It is often used interchangeably with "pickaxe" in general contexts.
- He used a pick to chip away at the ice.
- Mattock (noun): A similar digging tool with a broad blade on one end and a pick or axe on the other, used for digging and chopping.
Synonyms
- Pick
- Mining pick
- Ice pick (a much smaller, specialized tool)
Phrasal Verbs
(This word is a noun and does not have phrasal verbs.)
Related Idioms
- "Pickaxe and shovel work": Refers to very basic, physically demanding manual labor.
- The initial phase of the project was all pickaxe and shovel work.
Noun
- a heavy iron tool with a wooden handle and a curved head that is pointed on both ends
- they used picks and sledges to break the rocks