1. steam shovel - Noun
2. steam shovel - Verb
(historical) An excavating machine designed to effect a shovelling action through steam power.
(by extension) Any excavating machine of similar design, no matter how powered.
Synonym: power shovel
(transitive) To excavate (a place, or something from a place) using a steam shovel.
(intransitive) To operate a steam shovel.
steam-shovel (third-person singular simple present steam-shovels, present participle steam-shovelling or (US) steam-shoveling, simple past and past participle steam-shovelled or (US) steam-shoveled)
Alternative form of steam shovel
steam-shovel
The rule, acknowledged or not, seems to be that if we have great power we must use it. We would use a steam shovel to pick up a dime. We have experts who can prove there is no other way to do it. Wendell Berry
When President Teddy Roosevelt posed for the cameras astride a massive steam shovel during construction of the Panama Canal in 1906, it was more than a simple photo op. Though the scene was clearly staged, it symbolized a crucial moment in American history. Alan Huffman
The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car... a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little. Ben Sweetland