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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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
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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
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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
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(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
-
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
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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:
And the league can’t dig its way out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Your adviser should dig into all of these before giving you advice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
And Health Secretary Angela Constance said she was "incorrect", describing Swinney as the best first minister yet - remarks seen as a dig at Sturgeon.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Dozens of volunteers meanwhile dig downwards into collapsed buildings in the coastal Caraballeda neighborhood, as in other parts of the worst-hit La Guaira state.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
I flip onto my side and dig through my backpack for earphones.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
"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
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 deep enough into almost any large company and you will find something that troubles someone.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
In 1985, Nepal’s Dig Tsho lake, in the Everest region, burst after part of a hanging glacier fell into it, destroying houses and infrastructure below.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
That piano is called the Dig EP from the Roland JV-1080 — the preset that Babyface used on the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
In my peripheral vision I was able to make out a Dig Dug game on my left and a Zaxxon machine to my right.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
She digs into why it’s so appealing—and why it’s also become the most abused trope on BookTok.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Roman walls in the area have been known about since the 1930s, but digs in recent years have led to new discoveries, including a Roman forum and a theatre.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Both of the youngsters fledged, or took their first flight from the nest, but are still hanging around their natal digs, enjoying parental food deliveries and protection from intruders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
But judging by Barker’s shallow screenplay, I doubt that it will be too long before someone digs deeper, striking an unassailable, solid-gold classic.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
He digs out a hankie and dabs his eyes.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
“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
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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
Monahan described the soldiers as "doing an utterly phenomenal job digging trenches and also helping us build fire breaks".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Volunteers and rescuers persevered with the grueling task of digging through the rubble, looking for any signs of life after the critical 72-hour window passed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
He kept trying to escape, digging beneath bars, testing and pulling at them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
No one knows, but all the flailing, hammering, digging and burrowing are for naught.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
He couldn’t speak it, definitely couldn’t read it, and hadn’t, admittedly, done much digging on the particulars of the theater’s history with it at all.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
The poor server desperately dug for his life in the lost and found cabinet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Through one opening, dug from above, they were able to provide Largo with oxygen.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Shellfish, bread, beer circulate around firepits dug into sand.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
The company’s global competitors have also dug into North America, and Whirlpool’s market share among major U.S. retailers has slipped in recent years, according to the research firm OpenBrand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
As quick as we got the potatoes dug and the winter wheat planted and I had a little money put aside, I’d be off to the Dakotas for the harvest.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
