A Backhoe is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket on the end of an articulated arm, also called a stick or dipper. Modern backhoes are powered by hydraulics. It gets its name because it is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader. (Similar attachments for skid loaders are still called backhoes even though they are mounted on the front of the vehicle.)
Skid loader with bucket replaced by backhoe attachmentA backhoe attached to a swiveling cab on top of tracks is called an excavator.
Much of the early development of the backhoe was done by the British company JCB. Their first tractor equipped with both a backhoe and a loading scoop was completed in 1953 and set the standard pattern for all future designs. Because of this backhoe-equipped diggers are commonly called 'JCBs' in the UK. The founder of the JCB company is honoured for this innovation by being the only non-American in the US construction industry's Hall of Fame.
