plough
verbEtymology From Middle English plouh, plow, plugh(e), plough(e), plouw, from Old English plōh (“hide of land, ploughland”) and Old Norse plógr (“plough (the implement)”), both from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz, *plōguz (“plough”). Cognate with Scots pleuch, plou, North Frisian plog, West Frisian ploech, Low German Ploog, Dutch ploeg, Russian плуг (plug), German Pflug, Danish plov, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish plog, Icelandic plógur. Replaced Old English sulh (“plough, furrow”); see sullow.
10 senses
- 1To use a plough on soil to prepare for planting.
- 2To use a plough.
- 3To move with force.
- 4To knock over or run over (someone) without stopping.
- 5To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in.
- 6To run through, as in sailing.
- 7To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper…
- 8To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a…
- 9To fail (a student).
- 10To sexually penetrate, typically in a vigorous manner.
To use a plough on soil to prepare for planting.
- I've still got to plough that field.
- That there is and from time immemorial has been within that part of the parish called Mablethorpe St. Mary's a laudable custom that, if any outdweller take ancient pasture ground, he shall pay a modus of 4d. an acre, and so in proportion, on the 1st of August, in lieu of all manner of tithe; and that if any of the ancient pasture be once ploughed up or meadowed, it shall, when restored to pasture again, pay 4d. the acre in the hands of such outdweller.1917, The English Reports: Exchequer, page 789:
To use a plough.
- Some days I have to plough from sunrise to sunset.
To move with force.
- Trucks ploughed through the water to ferry flood victims to safety.
- Wolves continued to plough forward as young Belgian midfielder Mujangi Bia and Ronald Zubar both hit shots wide from good positions.2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC:
1 more example
- Thirteen people were injured in August 1957 when this Bristol freighter skidded on the runway at Southend Airport when landing with a flight from Calais. It ploughed through the boundary fence, but thankfully stopped short of the railway and the 1,500V overhead wires. A tripwire was installed on this section of Shenfield-Southend line to warn train drivers of instances such as this.2020 December 30, Tim Dunn, “The railway's mechanical marvels”, in Rail, page 58, photo caption:
Colloquial To knock over or run over (someone) without stopping.
- My brother ploughed me over.
- Three people were ploughed down when he lost control of the truck.
To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in.
- Let patient Octavia plough thy visage up / With her prepared nails.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene xii]:
- With speed we plough the watery way.1725, Homer, “Book II”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
Arts, Bookbinding, Crafts, Hobbies, Lifestyle To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plough.
To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc.
University slang
- The good Professor scolded, predicted that they would all be either gulfed or ploughed.1863, Henry Kingsley, Austin Elliot, page 123:
- You see, Miss Dodd, an university examination consists of several items: neglect but one, and Crichton himself would be ploughed; because brilliancy in your other papers is not allowed to count; that is how the most distinguished man of our day got ploughed for Smalls.1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash:
1 more example
- I knew one of that lot at Corpus; in fact, we were crammed by the same tutor for "smalls," and both got ploughed.1895, Roger Pocock, The Rules of the Game:
Vulgar To sexually penetrate, typically in a vigorous manner.
- I love just getting ploughed face down on my bed.
- If you don't use rubbers when you're plowing someone's throat, don't bother answering this ad.1990 February 11, “Working Up An Appetite (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 30, page 13:
- Derived terms
- overplough, ploughability, ploughable, plough ahead, plough a lonely furrow, plough back, plough down, plough in, plough into, plough money, plough on, plough one's own furrow, plough one's way, plough over, Ploughright, plough the back forty, plough the sands, plough through, plough under, plough up, plough with one's heifer, replough, upplough