n. & v. (esp. US plow)
n. 1 an implement with a cutting blade fixed in a frame drawn by a tractor or by horses, for cutting furrows in the soil and turning it up. 2 an implement resembling this and having a comparable function (snowplough). 3 ploughed land. 4 (the Plough) the constellation Ursa Major or its seven bright stars.
v. 1 tr. (also absol.) turn up (the earth) with a plough, esp. before sowing. 2 tr. (foll. by out, up, down, etc.) turn or extract (roots, weeds, etc.) with a plough. 3 tr. furrow or scratch (a surface) as if with a plough. 4 tr. produce (a furrow or line) in this way. 5 intr. (foll. by through) advance laboriously, esp. through work, a book, etc. 6 intr. (foll. by through, into) move like a plough violently. 7 intr. & tr. Brit. colloq. fail in an examination. plough back 1 plough (grass etc.) into the soil to enrich it. 2 reinvest (profits) in the business producing them. Plough Monday the first Monday after the Epiphany. put one's hand to the plough undertake a task (Luke 9:62). ploughable adj. plougher n.
[ OE ploh f. ON plógr f. Gmc ]