# shovel vs swivel

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shovel
*noun · IPA /ˈʃʌv.əl/ · frequency rank #15,059*
A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. In strict usage differentiated from a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.

### swivel
*noun · IPA /ˈswɪvəl/ · frequency rank #29,489*
A piece, such as a ring or hook, attached to another piece by a pin, in such a manner as to permit rotation about the pin as an axis.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shovel-vs-swivel