plough

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/plaʊ/
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A British form of plow, covering the soil-turning tool and verb, forceful movement, determined effort, informal investment, and the star pattern called the Plough.
Practice using plough in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • I ploughed through a stack of forms at the counter.
  • Farmers often plough in spring before sowing grain.
  • The guide pointed out the Plough before naming Ursa Major.
  • We ploughed through knee-deep snow to reach the cottage.
  • The lorry ploughed into the wall after the brakes failed.

Similar words

push on
barge
persevere
crash
force
plow
farm implement
sink
soil turner
turn

Meanings

Farm tool for turning soil

noun
agriculture
neutral
A farming implement with a blade or blades that cuts and turns soil before planting.

Usage

Use plough for the implement itself, especially in British English, and plow for the usual North American spelling.

Examples

  • The farmer hitched the plough to the tractor at dawn.
  • An old horse-drawn plough stood beside the barn.
  • The new plough cut clean furrows in the heavy clay.
  • Several steel ploughs were stored after the harvest.
  • A broken share made the plough useless for the day.
  • The museum displayed a wooden plough from the nineteenth century.
  • Good soil conditions make a plough easier to pull.

Common mistakes

The plural is formed regularly, and the tool is sometimes confused with the crops or seeds it prepares the ground for.
IncorrectCorrect
The farmer bought a ploughs for the field. The farmer bought a plough for the field.
She planted wheat with a plough. She prepared the soil for wheat with a plough.
The field pulled the plough behind the tractor. The tractor pulled the plough across the field.
He wrote plow in a British farming report. He wrote plough in a British farming report.

Similar words

plow
cultivator
tiller
ard
farm implement
soil turner

Turn soil

verb
agriculture
neutral
To cut and turn soil with a plough, often to prepare a field or bury crop remains.

Usage

Use plough for preparing land by turning the soil, and use sow or plant for putting seed into the ground.

Examples

  • They ploughed the top field before the rain came.
  • Farmers often plough in spring before sowing grain.
  • The contractor ploughed under the cover crop to enrich the soil.
  • We need to plough this plot before potatoes can go in.
  • The land had not been ploughed for several years.
  • She ploughs a small vegetable patch behind the house.
  • The team ploughed straight furrows across the wet ground.

Common mistakes

The verb is often given the wrong tense or used for planting seeds rather than preparing the soil.
IncorrectCorrect
They plough the lower field yesterday. They ploughed the lower field yesterday.
She will ploughs the garden tomorrow. She will plough the garden tomorrow.
We ploughed the seeds in neat rows. We sowed the seeds in neat rows.
The pasture was plough to grow barley. The pasture was ploughed to grow barley.

Similar words

till
cultivate
turn
furrow
work
break up

Move with force or difficulty

verb
movement
neutral
To push or travel through something heavily, or to crash into something with force.

Usage

Use plough with through for difficult movement and with into when something hits a person or object hard.

Examples

  • The lorry ploughed into the wall after the brakes failed.
  • We ploughed through knee-deep snow to reach the cottage.
  • The ferry ploughed across rough water all afternoon.
  • A runaway car ploughed into the shopfront.
  • The hikers ploughed through mud on the lower path.
  • The train left the rails and ploughed into an embankment.
  • The dog ploughed through the puddles without slowing down.

Common mistakes

The wrong preposition changes the sense, especially between difficult movement and a forceful collision.
IncorrectCorrect
The bus ploughed through a parked car. The bus ploughed into a parked car.
We ploughed into deep snow for an hour. We ploughed through deep snow for an hour.
The boat ploughed the harbour slowly. The boat ploughed through the harbour slowly.
The cyclist ploughed on the fence. The cyclist ploughed into the fence.

Similar words

push
force
drive
barge
crash
ram
forge

Keep working through difficulty

verb
work
informal
To keep working, reading, eating, or talking despite length, boredom, or difficulty.

Usage

Use plough with through, on, or ahead when effort and persistence are the point.

Examples

  • She ploughed through the dense report before lunch.
  • He ploughed on with the speech despite the restless audience.
  • The team ploughed ahead after the first test failed.
  • I ploughed through a stack of forms at the counter.
  • They ploughed through all the food on the table.
  • The students ploughed through the reading list in a week.
  • After a short break, we ploughed on with the audit.

Common mistakes

The object should be something demanding to get through, not an ordinary action that needs a more precise verb.
IncorrectCorrect
She ploughed the email to her manager. She wrote the email to her manager.
He ploughed through the meeting as chair. He chaired the meeting.
They ploughed on the report for mistakes. They ploughed through the report for mistakes.
We should plough ahead this plan forever. We should plough ahead with this plan.

Similar words

persevere
persist
press on
push on
slog
work through
soldier on

Invest money or resources

verb
business
informal
To put money, time, or profit into something, often to help it grow or to reinvest what it earned.

Usage

Use plough with into for investing in something, and back into when profits or resources return to the same work.

Examples

  • They ploughed their savings into a small bakery.
  • The studio ploughed its profits back into new equipment.
  • Investors ploughed millions into the rail project.
  • She ploughed every spare hour into the campaign.
  • The charity ploughs donations into local training schemes.
  • He ploughed the prize money back into his research.
  • The council ploughed more resources into flood defences.

Common mistakes

The preposition is often missing, and ordinary spending is confused with deliberate investment.
IncorrectCorrect
They ploughed their savings the cafe. They ploughed their savings into the cafe.
The company ploughed profits on research. The company ploughed profits back into research.
I ploughed ten pounds into lunch. I spent ten pounds on lunch.
She ploughed money from the project. She ploughed money into the project.

Similar words

invest
reinvest
fund
sink
commit
put in

Star pattern called the Plough

noun
astronomy
neutral
In British English, the Plough is the seven-star pattern in Ursa Major known in North America as the Big Dipper.

Usage

Use Plough with a capital letter for the star pattern, and treat it as an asterism rather than the whole constellation.

Examples

  • The Plough was clear above the northern horizon.
  • She used the Plough to find the Pole Star.
  • In North America, the Plough is usually called the Big Dipper.
  • The seven stars of the Plough formed a familiar shape.
  • The guide pointed out the Plough before naming Ursa Major.
  • Clouds hid the Plough for most of the night.
  • Children learned to spot the Plough during the astronomy walk.

Common mistakes

The name is often left lowercase or treated as the whole constellation rather than a seven-star pattern.
IncorrectCorrect
The plough guided sailors north. The Plough guided sailors north.
The Plough is the whole constellation of Ursa Major. The Plough is a star pattern within Ursa Major.
The Plough is another name for Orion. The Plough is another name for the Big Dipper.
The Plough is easiest to see in the southern sky. The Plough is best known as a northern-sky pattern.

Similar words

Big Dipper
Charles's Wain
seven-star asterism

Usage

Use plough as the usual British spelling for the farm tool and verb, and watch the preposition in phrasal uses: through for effort, into for impact or investment, and back into for reinvestment.

Common mistakes

He plough the field drops the third-person -s, and plough into is often confused with plough through or plough back into.

Etymology

From Middle English plouh and plough, from late Old English ploh and a Scandinavian form such as Old Norse plogr. The deeper origin is uncertain, and plow is now the usual North American spelling.

FAQ

Is plough the same as plow?

Yes. Plough is the usual British spelling, while plow is the usual North American spelling.

What is a plough on a farm?

It is a blade-based implement pulled through soil to cut and turn it before planting.

What does plough through mean?

It means to move through something with difficulty, or to finish a hard, long, or boring task by steady effort.

What does plough money into something mean?

It means to invest money or resources in something, often to help a business, project, or cause grow.

What is the Plough in the sky?

It is the British name for the seven-star pattern in Ursa Major that is called the Big Dipper in North America.

Comments & contributions

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Fleet Condor
Jun 28
If the menu says ploughman's lunch, dont picture a farmer actually ploughing. Its the cold pub plate, bread, cheese, pickle, maybe ham. Funny part is the name got pushed hard by cheese marketing after rationing, so it sounds older than its menu history
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Contribution
Crimson Mouse
Jun 21
Canada is a bit messy on this one. We write colour and centre, sure, but snowplow is totally normal here and snowplough looks kind of imported to me. For the farm tool you may still see either spelling.
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