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.
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 ).
-
to find or discover by effort or search.
-
to poke, thrust, or force (usually followed by in orinto ).
He dug his heel into the ground.
noun
-
digs
plural
verb phrase
-
dig up
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
(tr; often foll by out or up) to obtain by digging
to dig potatoes
to dig up treasure
-
(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
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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
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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:
They send teams who can dig into the ground and douse it with water.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The S&P 500 was trading within 2 percentage points of its record closing high on Tuesday, but dig a little bit deeper, and things are looking far less rosy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
But if you dig a bit deeper, things are looking far less rosy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
They dig into the research on socioeconomic integration, the tendency to conflate race and class, and the problem with asking individual parents to solve what is really a policy problem.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Sleep, play, dig, aggravate my uncle. Normal badger stuff.”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
"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
Dig into one’s ideas too much, and eventually they’ll become hollow.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
“You can really see the impact she had on them,” said Kellie Jones, a scholar and independent curator who organized “Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980” at the Hammer Museum in 2011.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
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: Palantir pioneered the hottest job in tech.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
"Bruce? It's Venkat. Everything just changed. Watney's headed for Pathfinder. Yeah! I know, right!? Dig up everyone who was on that project and get them to JPL now. I'll catch the next flight."
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Stevens digs into the drink’s history and tells a fascinating tale about Prohibition and the delicious outcome of cultural fusion between the U.S. and Mexico.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026
They are the items most likely to be on student insurance claims - after being stolen from digs, cars, public transport and bars and restaurants.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
She said current digs were "really construction projects" where workers had stumbled across historical treasures.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
The author is a dedicated researcher who, in each chapter, digs into archives and personal correspondence to find the most revealing material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The parrot sighs, digs his talons painfully into my shoulders, beats his wings, and lifts me away from the ratlines of the foremast.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
“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
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
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
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
A video posted by the police shows people digging through collapsed remains of a residential building in Pryluky.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
And also involves a sort of treasure hunt and some digging in the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
If you think that, you aren’t digging deep enough.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
"The study was to be conducted before the excavation and digging", not after, said local artist Salwa Mahmoud.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
After much exhausting digging, he grubbed up four more, ate two, and stuffed two in his jerkin for later.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Jeffrey Bartash dug into the latest unemployment figures to describe a “low-hire, low-fire” job market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
They dug into Díaz’ biomechanics and found that his hip position was different from last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The court dug up a historical artifact and used it to decide the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Holes were dug and oil was poured on the surface.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
I feel hitches in my sides where the seam of my pants dug in while I was sleeping.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
