trowel
- A small hand tool with a flat, pointed, or scooped blade, used by masons, bricklayers, and gardeners for purposes such as spreading, smoothing, or digging. nounThe gardener used a trowel to plant the seedlings in the flower bed.The mason skillfully applied mortar to the bricks with his trowel.
- To apply or spread a substance, such as plaster or mortar, using a trowel. verbThe worker troweled the plaster onto the wall to create a smooth finish.She carefully troweled the mortar between the tiles to ensure they were securely set.