: an excavating machine having a bucket that is attached to a rigid bar hinged to a boom and that is drawn toward the machine in operation
Examples of backhoe in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles along the Guadalupe River in the search of the missing.
—
Sean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2025
Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles along the Guadalupe River in the search of missing people.
—Sean Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
So, with Halaby and others watching, neighbors decide to do it themselves — with a backhoe provided by a local civil engineer.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025
In the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten, crews with backhoes were dispatched in late May as part of an emergency clean-up after residents complained of strong smells of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which can affect a person’s respiratory system.
—Danica Coto, Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhoe
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2025
Crews used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris that stretched for miles along the Guadalupe River in the search of missing people.
—Sean Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
So, with Halaby and others watching, neighbors decide to do it themselves — with a backhoe provided by a local civil engineer.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025
In the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten, crews with backhoes were dispatched in late May as part of an emergency clean-up after residents complained of strong smells of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which can affect a person’s respiratory system.
—Danica Coto, Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for backhoe
Cite this Entry
“Backhoe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backhoe. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
backhoe
noun
back·hoe
-ˌhō 
: a large machine that digs into the earth with a metal scoop drawn toward the machine
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share