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.
They steal electricity cables, damage water pipes and dig up roads, said Michael Sun, a member of the provincial legislature in Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
While the information out there can be conflicting and confusing, I’ll dig up answers and advice you can trust through rigorous research and reporting.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Scavengers would dig up artifacts like gold coins and porcelain doll heads, and Bayouth admired their aged, archival qualities, a theme that takes shape in her ceramics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
So the next time that they come in and pull somebody out of central casting, they just would want to hire better lawyers to dig up dirt on their own candidate.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Sapiens could dig up delicious truffles and hunt down woolly mammoths, but domesticating either species was out of the question.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
