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.
On impulse, one of the men went inside for a shovel, and he and his friend began digging up sidewalk stones with the idea of making a little garden.
And I admire that she never tried to stop me from digging up the past.
Workers initially excavated the tar pits by capturing massive chunks of earth as if they were digging up a large tree, root ball and all.
It’s also a signal that anyone planning to dig up those rare earths from Greenland’s tundra will have Washington’s support to overcome any resistance from China or local environmentalists.
From Barron's
There’s digging up the baby trees in my yard, the thought of planting them in secret.
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.
