shovel up
B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To pick up something heavy and messy with a shovel
Literal meaning: To use a shovel to lift material upward — fully transparent
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To gather or lift material (earth, snow, debris, manure) using a shovel
"He spent the morning shovelling up the horse manure from the stable floor."
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
To eat or consume large amounts of food quickly and greedily (informal, figurative)
"He was shovelling up noodles straight from the pot without even sitting down."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Used in practical, physical contexts: gardening, construction, cleaning up after animals, clearing snow. Less commonly used figuratively. Fairly transparent and literal.
Commonly used with
dirt manure gravel snow debris coal sand
Forms
Base
shovel up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
shovels up
he/she/it
Past simple
shoveled up
yesterday
Past participle
shoveled up
have + pp
-ing form
shoveling up
continuous
Understand "shovel up" better
Try:
Real video examples
Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.
Want to master this phrasal verb?
Practice "shovel up" on Looplines