🇺🇸
/ˈɔː.dʒɚz/
🇺🇸
/ˈɔː.dʒɚz/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔː.dʒɚz/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔː.dʒɚz/
Plural
augers
An auger is a spiral-shaped tool—like a giant corkscrew—that bores into soil, wood, ice, or other materials by rotating; it's commonly used in construction, gardening, and ice fishing to create clean, deep holes. Think of it as nature’s twisty tunnel-maker: turn the handle, and it screws itself downward while pulling out debris.
The landscaper used a hand auger to dig precise holes for planting saplings.
Before installing fence posts, we rented a power auger to save time and effort.
Ice fishermen rely on lightweight augers to quickly bore through thick winter ice.
The geotechnical team collected soil samples using a rotary auger attached to a truck-mounted rig.
Never force an auger—if it binds, reverse rotation gently to clear the jam.
auger
Comes from Middle English 'augre' (also 'awger'), derived from Old French 'auquier' or 'alquier', ultimately from Latin 'alācris' (not directly related) — however, modern scholarship traces it to a Germanic root *ag-/*ak- meaning 'to cut, pierce, or dig', cognate with Old English 'ōc' (ploughshare) and Gothic 'agwō' (pointed tool). The word 'auger' itself is a folk-etymological respelling of 'nauger' (from 'a nauger' → 'an auger'), where 'nauger' came from Old English 'nafugār' ('nave + gār', i.e., 'spindle-point tool for boring holes in wheel hubs'). Core meaning centers on a rotating drilling tool used to bore into material. Examples include auger, auger bit, earth auger, ice auger, screw auger.