backhoe

noun, verb — 4 senses

backhoe

noun

/ˈbæk.həʊ/

Etymology From back + hoe.

1

A piece of excavating equipment, either an integral subassembly or an attachment, consisting of a digging bucket or scoop on the end of an articulated arm, drawn backwards to move earth; used in excavator/digger and backhoe tractors.

2

Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of backhoe tractor: A specialized tractor with the backhoe subassembly. This type of tractor has been superceded by the backhoe loader and trackhoe in most roles.

3

Australia, Canada, US, Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of backhoe loader: A multi-purpose tractor with a front-mounted loading bucket and a rear-mounted digging bucket. The tractor combines a front-end loader/loader (component) and an excavator/digger (component).

  • Meronym: front-end loader
  • The backhoe is only one type of heavy equipment for rent.[…]I heard about a couple of tool-rental outfits near Chicago that were doing a brisk business renting backhoes and other heavy equipment to homeowners1967 June, Charles E. Rhine, “How to Rent a Backhoe”, in Popular Science, page 149:
2 more examples
  • I'll recommend a good way to calculate backhoe production rates. Then we'll look at the two backhoes you'll be using, the wheeled backhoe and the tracked backhoe.1987, Dave Roberts, Pipe and Excavation Contracting, page 173:
  • 2010, Robert Day, Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd edition, page 2.49, Backhoe pits and trenches are an economical means of performing subsurface exploration. The backhoe can quickly excavate the trench that can then be used to observe and test the in situ soil (see Fig. 2.29).
Synonyms
backhoe loader, loader excavator, backhoe endloader
Derived terms
backhoe loader
Related terms
bobcat, excavator, front-end loader, JCB

backhoe

verb

Etymology From back + hoe.

1

To excavate using such equipment.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.