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.
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Digging.
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.
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to unearth, obtain, or remove by digging (often followed by up orout ).
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to find or discover by effort or search.
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to poke, thrust, or force (usually followed by in orinto ).
He dug his heel into the ground.
noun
-
digs
plural
verb phrase
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dig up
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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.
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to hollow out by digging.
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to find by searching.
to dig out facts for a term paper.
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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.
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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
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(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
-
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:
First up, hosts Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers dig into what is causing inflation and why bananas should actually cost more than they do.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
I said, “I had a shovel. I dig it a hole. I dig in holes. I dig in the holes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
The drain was discovered during the dig in a grassy open space at the former hospital.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Steinbrenner countered by hiring Roy Cohn—lawyer, notorious fixer and another mentor to Mr. Trump—to dig into Mr. Winfield’s charity, and Howard Spira—a former FBI mob informant—to dig up dirt on Mr. Winfield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
I reach sand, dig wildly around her hoof.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
"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
“We dig, dig, dig. We call it the stone way, the way of stones.”
From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 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
Dig deeper, though, and you can see why the Fed might have held fire anyway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 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 through that stack of mail on your counter for circulars and search your email inbox for any grocery-store brand names to scope out advertised deals.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
Dig trenches, unload railway wagons, push barrows of cement bags, construct invasion obstacles in a field or on a beach.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The Escondida mine in northern Chile yearly digs up around five percent of the world's copper, which is essential for the energy transition, artificial intelligence and defense.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Rebecca Onion digs into the movie’s many twists and turns, culminating in “the psychological-thriller equivalent of a plot quadruple axel.”
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
The abrupt exits have frazzled some of the city’s elder statesmen, chagrined politicians—and prompted some chief executives to make not-so-subtle digs at their former neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 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
He digs in, and she has to avert her eyes.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
“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
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
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money.
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
If you think that, you aren’t digging deep enough.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The circumstances around their deaths are shrouded in mystery even as the search has concluded at a property in Lancaster where law enforcement spent two days digging.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The country’s ambitions extend beyond digging up ore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Even worse, when it built the plant in the 1960s, the company had actually lowered the hillside by more than 100 feet, digging out soil to bring the reactors closer to the water.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
But I was interested in the fact that he accumulated so much power, and so that was the basis on which I dug in back in 2022.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
"For those 11 residents' groups dug up from the 1990s to threaten parades, go ahead, go ahead, open them all up," Bryson added.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
We dug into the math to see whether, and by how much, the influx of Russian diesel could bring prices down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
They dug into the results for “occupations where we absolutely need them in society,” but where “we know the earnings are really low,” like education and social work, Velez said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
I dug through the straw until I rolled out of the pile and onto the floor at Opal’s feet.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
