1. a farming tool with a long handle and a blade used for digging, chopping, or breaking up soil

Examples

• The farmer used a mattock to break up the hard clay soil.
• She swung the mattock to clear weeds from the garden bed.
• The archaeologist carefully excavated the site with a small mattock.
• He preferred a mattock over a regular hoe for tough ground.
• The mattock’s sharp blade cut through roots and packed earth.
• Workers used mattocks to prepare the field for planting.