mattock
mattock Lexical Profile
mattock Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A versatile agricultural hand tool consisting of a stout wooden handle and a metal head, typically featuring a broad digging blade on one side and a pick or an axe on the other.
"The archaeologist used a small mattock to carefully break up the compacted soil around the buried artifacts."
• verb
To dig, loosen, or cut through earth and roots using a mattock.
"The laborers had to mattock the stubborn, rocky clay before they could begin laying the trench."
Word Nuance & Usage
A mattock is frequently confused with a pickaxe; while a pickaxe typically has pointed and chisel-like ends, a mattock features a broad, flattened blade (an adze) on at least one side for cutting roots or breaking hard ground.
• Rhymes for mattock
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'mattuc', a kind of pick or adze. The ultimate origin is uncertain, though it may be related to Celtic words such as Welsh 'matog' (hoe).
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.