unearth
Americanverb (used with object)
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unearths,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unearthed,
past participle, past
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unearthing
present participle
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to dig or get out of the earth; dig up.
-
to uncover or bring to light by search, inquiry, etc..
The lawyer unearthed new evidence.
verb
-
to dig up out of the earth
-
to reveal or discover, esp by exhaustive searching
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unearthsimple
-
unearthssimple
-
have unearthedperfect
-
has unearthedperfect
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am unearthingprogressive
-
are unearthingprogressive
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is unearthingprogressive
-
have been unearthingperfect progressive
-
has been unearthingperfect progressive
Past
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unearthedsimple
-
had unearthedperfect
-
was unearthingprogressive
-
were unearthingprogressive
-
had been unearthingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unearth
First recorded in 1400–50, unearth is from the late Middle English word unerthen. See un- 2, earth
Explanation
To unearth something is to dig it up. You could unearth a coffin, or even a tee shirt buried in the bottom of a drawer. To put something in the earth is to bury it, to unearth it is to take it back out. When digging in the yard you’ll probably unearth creepy-crawlies and, with luck, a lost treasure will surface. To bring anything hidden “into the light” is to unearth it. You can unearth the secret affairs of your lover, you can unearth the lies of a corrupt government, and you may even unearth a child’s secret candy stash from under the mattress.
Vocabulary lists containing unearth
Holes
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"The End and the Beginning," Vocabulary from the poem
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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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:
“NAZA” eschews probing for guilty feelings, though, because the point is to unearth a process of obliteration: how it works and what it looks like as implemented by the willing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Some customers were still coming by, hoping to unearth a rare gem amid the clothes, records, dishes and other items.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Prince’s shocking death in 2016 gave writers a reason to unearth the shady details of his antagonism toward Michael Jackson.
From Salon ● May 16, 2026
Ultimately any staging of a Wilson play rises or falls on the quality of the ensemble, the ability of the performers to unearth all the immense riches in the dialogue and the characters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
They can unearth a piece of hot dog buried at the bottom of a neighbor’s trash can.
From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate
Exactly how Jamestown operates is a closely guarded secret, as it unearths gems where no one else is looking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Digging deeper, however, unearths a defensive tenor to Monday’s rally, which was paced by megacap tech, healthcare, and industrial stocks that was paired with a big bid for U.S.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
Rory McIlroy unearths a buried ball as he tries to play himself out of trouble on the 11th hole at The Open.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
A quick glance at a Google search unearths some of the headlines that tell my sorry story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2025
From somewhere in the depths of the car our mother unearths a primus stove, which she sets up on the kitchen floor, since there is no table.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
The remarkable discovery, described in 2024 in the journal Scientific Reports, came from fossils unearthed in Gujarat, western India.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
As for the newly unearthed song snippet of John’s, “Little Girl” will intrigue only the most dedicated appreciators of Beatles flotsam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Record hoard of Roman coins unearthed in Germany.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
A coalition of AI researchers said it had unearthed evidence that OpenAI agents were behind the May attack and shared its findings with The Wall Street Journal and OpenAI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It was like Id been unearthed from a coal mine after being trapped for days and days.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
Call it nepo-baby inflation: A collective obsession with unearthing privilege has broadened the meaning of the term, originally referring to children of A-listers who followed in their parents’ footsteps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Copper miners, Cryer adds, mostly know where the big reserves are concentrated, and unearthing lots of surprisingly large deposits is unlikely now.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
In his senior year of high school, he found bugs in websites belonging to the Dutch government and reported them via a “bug bounty” program that offered hackers prizes for unearthing security flaws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
With a keen eye for unearthing talent, Mick guided Tyson Fury and Carl Froch from their debuts to their first world titles.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
“Want to sign our petition?” asked Laney, approaching him and unearthing another crumpled petition from her coat pocket.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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.
