dig
verb (used without object)
to break up, turn over, or remove earth, sand, etc., as with a shovel, spade, bulldozer, or claw; make an excavation.
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Digging.
dig
1 American
[dig]
/ dɪg /
verb (used without object)
dug,
digged,
digging
-
to break up, turn over, or remove earth, sand, etc., as with a shovel, spade, bulldozer, or claw; make an excavation.
-
to make one's way or work by or as by removing or turning over material.
to dig through the files.
verb (used with object)
dug,
digged,
digging
-
to break up, turn over, or loosen (earth, sand, etc.), as with a shovel, spade, or bulldozer (often followed byup ).
-
to form or excavate (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing material.
-
to unearth, obtain, or remove by digging (often followed by up orout ).
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to find or discover by effort or search.
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to poke, thrust, or force (usually followed by in orinto ).
He dug his heel into the ground.
noun
-
digs
plural
verb phrase
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dig up
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to discover in the course of digging.
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to locate; find.
to dig up information.
-
-
dig into to attack, work, or apply oneself voraciously, vigorously, or energetically: to dig into a meal.
to dig into one's work;
to dig into a meal.
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dig in
-
to dig trenches, as in order to defend a position in battle.
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to maintain one's opinion or position.
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to start eating.
-
-
dig out
-
to remove earth or debris from by digging.
-
to hollow out by digging.
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to find by searching.
to dig out facts for a term paper.
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dig
2
American
[dig]
/ dɪg /
verb (used with object)
Slang.
dug,
digging
-
to understand.
Can you dig what I'm saying?
-
to take notice of.
Dig those shoes he's wearing.
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to like, love, or enjoy.
She digs that kind of music. We really dig each other.
dig.
3
American
abbreviation
dig
1
British
/ dɪɡ /
verb
-
to cut into, break up, and turn over or remove (earth, soil, etc), esp with a spade
-
to form or excavate (a hole, tunnel, passage, etc) by digging, usually with an implement or (of animals) with feet, claws, etc
to dig a tunnel
-
(often foll by through) to make or force (one's way), esp by removing obstructions
he dug his way through the crowd
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(tr; often foll by out or up) to obtain by digging
to dig potatoes
to dig up treasure
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(tr; often foll by out or up) to find or discover by effort or searching
to dig out unexpected facts
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(tr; foll by in or into) to thrust or jab (a sharp instrument, weapon, etc); poke
he dug his spurs into the horse's side
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(tr; foll by in or into) to mix (compost, etc) with soil by digging
-
informal (tr) to like, understand, or appreciate
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slang (intr) to work hard, esp for an examination
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informal (intr) to have lodgings
I dig in South London
noun
-
the act of digging
-
a thrust or poke, esp in the ribs
-
a cutting or sarcastic remark
-
informal an archaeological excavation
Dig
2
British
/ dɪɡ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dig1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English diggen, deggen; perhaps from Middle French diguer “to dig,” from the same Germanic source as ditch ( def. )
Origin of dig2
First recorded in 1935–40; origin uncertain; perhaps the same as dig 1 ( def. )
Explanation
When you dig, you scoop or shovel up dirt, sand, or some other material. Your dog might whine to go outside so she can dig a hole in your dad's garden. You can dig with your hands, a shovel, or even a tractor or backhoe. City crews dig up roads to repair water pipes, and gardeners dig small for planting bulbs. You can even say you dig your brother in the side when you jab him there. If someone says, "I dig you," they mean, "I understand," and if they say, "I dig your outfit," they like it. Both slang usages come from 1930s African American English.
Vocabulary lists containing dig
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:
And the league can’t dig its way out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Your adviser should dig into all of these before giving you advice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
As they were still teenagers, they were better able to squeeze through narrow spaces, crawling between concrete slabs lit only by a handheld torch or mobile phone so they could tell rescuers where to dig.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
But the head of the dig discouraged him from learning this "very difficult" script, which borrowed its cuneiform alphabet from Assyrian.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
I dig out my pen and sketchbook from my backpack.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
"There were some other amazing finds on the dig. It was a field of dreams."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2023
“That’s fine. I can dig. Wouldn’t trust anyone under 30 who didn’t poke at his or her or their elders. But it doesn’t mean that I or we have got to oblige.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2020
“When all else fails, we were instructed to dig. The clams are always there. There’s food waiting there.”
From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2019
When Hope asks him if he’s off by himself looking for gold, he answers: “No. I just like to dig. I used to live in a hole.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2016
“He says if we want to eat, we must dig. Our ration depends on our progress.”
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
Cava, despite the broader company’s stock decline, was still packed with salad-hungry customers; so were Naya and Dig Inn.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
Dig deeper: Moon launches are having a moment.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
Discussing the Strictly role on the new episode of her Dig It podcast, Ball said: "I didn't get it, but it's OK."
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
In 1985, Nepal’s Dig Tsho lake, in the Everest region, burst after part of a hanging glacier fell into it, destroying houses and infrastructure below.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Dig up the vegetable garden, everything that was coming up, flatten it, and cover it with dead leaves.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Just compare the girls’ cluttered digs with their pursuers’ sterile white suits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
She digs into why it’s so appealing—and why it’s also become the most abused trope on BookTok.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Unscathed, his team scrambled for new digs across the Hudson River, growing into a major player in debt and equity financing for mostly small and midsize companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Small digs have since uncovered "extremely rare" evidence of early humans and animals - including the bones of a hippopotamus which roamed Wales 120,000 years ago.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The plow digs up the plants and churns the potatoes to the surface, where they can be picked up and put into sacks.
From "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
“It seemed like it digged the piece,” Aitken said, as wide-eyed and sincere as he is when talking about all of his work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money.
From Time Magazine Archive
Spade never digged a pit as murky, foul, treacherous as that which gapes for the spirit of a golfer who is off his form.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then, as a double precaution against double voting, each digged his fingers in a pot of indelible ink and presented his forearm to let one square inch of hair be shaved off.
From Time Magazine Archive
Men were laboring with Mattocks & Axes & Picks & rustic Grubbing Hoes — & together they digged out & built up the Breastworks & Redoubts at the Eminence of the Hill.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Monahan described the soldiers as "doing an utterly phenomenal job digging trenches and also helping us build fire breaks".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Once federal investigators started digging into these cases, however, they often fell apart.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
He kept trying to escape, digging beneath bars, testing and pulling at them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Some EV owners who are sold on the technology are digging in their heels and settling for high prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Grandpa frowned and started digging at his wiry whiskers with his fingers.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
"They like the nice grassy slopes and the burrows have already been dug out for them by rabbits and Manx shearwaters, which is our star bird on the island."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The poor server desperately dug for his life in the lost and found cabinet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Secret Service dug into its playbook of tricks to protect Trump during his vulnerable final minutes in Turkey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Shellfish, bread, beer circulate around firepits dug into sand.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
So he dug and dug into the rising snow with the goal of hollowing out a snow cave, a place to weather the terrible storm.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
