dig up
Idioms-
Search out, find, obtain, as in I'm sure I can dig up a few more supporters . [Mid-1800s]
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. Find derogatory information about someone or something. For example, The editor assigned him to dig up all the dirt on the candidates . The slangy use of the noun dirt for “embarrassing or scandalous information” dates from about 1840, but this metaphoric expression is a century newer.
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.
Although it is unclear whether the accounts betting on the Iran cease-fire are insiders, an investigation by Polymarket could dig up the truth.
From MarketWatch
Mining for the minerals required for motors and batteries involves “digging up hundreds or thousands of tons of rocks.”
In the summer it can be a bit high because the dogs like to “save” their food sometimes for a day or two or four— burying it to dig up later.
From Literature
He’ll even dig up the grave of a suitable love match.
Led by brother David Fox, a troop of men carrying shovels and pickaxes descended the stairs to dig up the peddler’s body.
From Literature
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.
