dig out
Idioms-
Extract, remove, as in He was determined to dig out every bit of metal he could find . [Late 1300s]
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Find by searching for, as in He dug out his first contract from the file . [Mid-1800s]
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.
A distinguishing feature is that on each hand, the possum's fourth finger is twice the length of other digits, which scientists say help it dig out wood-boring insect larvae, it's main source of food.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
Driven by poverty and unemployment, the zama zamas -- which means "those who try" in the Zulu language -- descend deep into still gold-bearing shafts abandoned by mining companies or dig out new ones.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
The hedge fund investor at the heart of a scandal that damaged B. Riley Financial has been charged with criminal fraud as the West L.A. company continues efforts to dig out from under the debacle.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025
If instituting fair grades leads to crying, sobbing and “soul-crushing” setbacks, I wish her luck should she ever be called on to dig out a ruptured appendix at 3 a.m. on her birthday.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
He piled wood on the coals and fanned the fire to life and trudged out through the drifts to dig out the cart.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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.
