mattock
Dual-headed digger
A mattock is a hand tool for digging and chopping, similar to a pickaxe but with a broad blade on one or both ends rather than a point.
One side typically has an adze-like horizontal blade for chopping roots and breaking soil, the other a pick or axe edge.
It's used for grubbing out stumps, breaking hard ground, and other heavy garden or agricultural work: He swung the mattock into the packed clay.
Pointed digging implement
- adzeTransverse-bladed hewing implement
- hoeWeeding and tilling implement
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
- shovelTool for moving earth
trenching · grubbing · breaking · loosening · prybar · swinging · leverage · blade
Soil preparation for planting
- cultivateGrow or develop purposefully
- hoeWeeding and tilling implement
- plowTool for turning soil
- harvestGathering mature crops
sow · irrigate · fertilize · crop · vineyard · orchard · husbandry · fallow
Solid earthen material
- hardpanImpenetrable subsurface stratum
- clayMoldable earth for ceramics
- shaleCompacted clay sediment
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
bedrock · compacted · soil · earth · loam · subsoil · breaking · fracturing
Pointed digging implement
Excavating long narrow cuts
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- footingsStructural foundation supports
- drainageLiquid removal system
- pipelineLong-distance fluid transport tube
ditch · channel · grading · masonry · stonework · landscaping · hardscape · retaining wall
pickaxe
Pointed digging implement
- adzeTransverse-bladed hewing implement
- hoeWeeding and tilling implement
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
shovel · trenching · grubbing · breaking · loosening · prybar · swinging · leverage · blade · handle
tillage
Soil preparation for planting
harvest · sow · irrigate · fertilize · crop · vineyard · orchard · husbandry · fallow · weeding
rock
Solid earthen material
gravel · bedrock · compacted · soil · earth · loam · subsoil · breaking · fracturing · quarry
pickaxe
Pointed digging implement
trenching
Excavating long narrow cuts
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- footingsStructural foundation supports
- drainageLiquid removal system
pipeline · ditch · channel · grading · masonry · stonework · landscaping · hardscape · retaining wall · post hole
excavation
Act of unearthing
artifact · relic · stratum · trowel · unearth · discovery · burial · prehistoric · careful · precision
toil
Strenuous, prolonged effort
manual · backbreaking · grueling · hardship · effort · grind · calloused · blistered · tireless · diligence