A
backhoe, also called a
rear actor or
back actor (
colloquially known as a JCB in Ireland and UK), is a piece of excavating equipment or
digger consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. They are typically mounted on the back of a
tractor or
front loader. The section of the arm closest to the vehicle is known as the boom, and the section which carries the bucket is known as the
dipper or dipper-stick (the terms "" and "" having been used previously on
steam shovels). The boom is generally attached to the vehicle through a pivot known as the king-post, which allows the arm to slew left and right, usually through a total of around 200 degrees.