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• digger
  digger

  noun

  a person or an animal that digs.
• Digger
  Digger

  noun

  (sometimes not capital)

digger

American  

[dig-er] / ˈdɪg ər /

noun

diggers plural

1. a person or an animal that digs.

2. a tool, part of a machine, etc., for digging.

3. Also called Digger Indian.  (initial capital letter) a member of any of several Indian peoples of western North America, especially of a tribe that dug roots for food.

4. an Australian or New Zealand soldier of World War I.

5. (initial capital letter) a member of a group that advocated the abolition of private property and began in 1649 to cultivate certain common lands.

6. Slang. a person hired by a scalper to buy tickets to a show or performance for resale by the scalper at inflated prices.

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Digger ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪɡə /

noun

1. archaic (sometimes not capital)

   1. an Australian or New Zealander, esp a soldier: often used as a term of address

   2. ( as modifier )

      a Digger accent

2. one of a number of tribes of America whose diet was largely composed of roots dug out of the ground

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digger ² British  

/ ˈdɪɡə /

noun

1. a person, animal, or machine that digs

2. a miner, esp one who digs for gold

3. a tool or part of a machine used for excavation, esp a mechanical digger fitted with a head for digging trenches

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• diggers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of digger

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at dig ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

digger Digger diggers

It was the stuff of movie fantasy - a digger gouging earth on a building site suddenly revealing a cascade of gold.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

In central London, a construction digger unearths an unexploded World War II bomb, and it starts to tick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

An AFP journalist in Nangarhar's Bihsud district said residents from around the remote and mountainous area joined rescuers in one village, using a digger and shovels to search for bodies under the rubble.

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

Julia, a successful businesswoman in textile design, knows that her father will be alarmed at this impetuous engagement and will want to make sure that Johnny isn’t a gold digger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

I didn’t see another person for blocks, not even a grave digger or a physician.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

A few years later, in 1649, Digger leaders William Everard and Gerrard Winstanley refused to remove their hats when brought before General Fairfax, insisting he was 'but their fellow Creature'.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026

The musician was one of the most successful and prolific rappers of the 2000s and 2010s, with multi-platinum hits like Gold Digger, Stronger and All Of The Lights.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2024

The iconic black-and-white photo of the incident remains a classic for Hoosiers fans and even became fodder for a television commercial with one of his old coaching rivals, former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Starting with 1957’s “A Rage in Harlem,” he wrote eight books that follow detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones through the New York underworld of the 1950s and ’60s.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2023

Digger frowned and his lips parted as a scared, hurt look softened his steely expression.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

Factory workers, farmers, gold diggers, frontiersmen flocked to the US with the belief that they could create a new identity - an "American" - unshackled from the class systems of Europe.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

If no more survivors are found, mechanical diggers and other heavy equipment will be brought in to clear debris and recover bodies, she said, but gave no timeline.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

KHARTOUM, Sudan — The diggers were efficient, cramming in so many graves that, from above, the field near the University of Sudan’s medical campus looked like a frieze of an undulating, gravel-brown sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026

Eventually, two diggers were deployed on Thursday to dredge a channel for the whale to swim into deeper water, and rescue teams worked late into the day under floodlights to save it.

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

With a seething press of soldiers behind him, Darkclaw stepped up to the waiting diggers.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques