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Synonyms

dug

1 American  
[duhg] / dʌg /

verb

  1. a simple past tense and past participle of dig and dig.


dug 2 American  
[duhg] / dʌg /

noun

  • dugs
    plural
  1. the mamma or the nipple of a female mammal.


dug 1 British  
/ dʌɡ /

noun

  1. the nipple, teat, udder, or breast of a female mammal

  2. a human breast, esp when old and withered

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dug 2 British  
/ dʌɡ /

verb

  1. the past tense and past participle of dig

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dug 3 British  
/ dʌɡ /

noun

  1. a Scot word for dog

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of dug

1520–30; origin obscure; perhaps < a Germanic base akin to Danish dægge, Norwegian degge, Swedish dägga to suckle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Sure, if Galliano had simply faded into obscurity or dug his heels in on his horrible comments, this would be another conversation entirely.

From Salon Sep. 5, 2026

Joy Wiltermuth dug into the mechanics behind the decline in bond prices and rising long-term rates and professional investors’ expectations for moves that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh can make to calm the market.

From MarketWatch Sep. 4, 2026

Matson traces its roots to one night three years ago when, he claims, a pit bull dug under his fence and killed an ostrich as she slept.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 3, 2026

He blamed AI firms: “They basically dug their own grave for the problem that’s been caused for them and that’s why they got the backlash they deserve.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 31, 2026

He dug a vegetable garden in the rich soil at Fire Mountain’s base and planted avocados, bananas, lettuce, oranges, pineapples, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes, and bamboo for making pipes and useful things.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

In the state of Arizona, prison boss Carson McWilliams was also on the search for lethal dugs.

From BBC Oct. 21, 2023

Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which has played a vital role in procuring experimental dugs and vaccines.

From Reuters Nov. 11, 2020

Around the last stall came a shepherd bitch, lean and long, with heavy, hanging dugs.

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

A copious bowl of milk, new from the dugs of old Brindle, stands beside him, patiently waiting to be honored by his unscrupulous but not unfastidious taste.

From Charlemont; Or, the Pride of the Village. a Tale of Kentucky by William Gilmore Simms

Crouching by a patient cow at daybreak in the lush field, a witch on her toadstool, her wrinkled fingers quick at the squirting dugs.

From Ulysses by James Joyce

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