unearth
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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to dig up out of the earth
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to reveal or discover, esp by exhaustive searching
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unearthsimple
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unearthssimple
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have unearthedperfect
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has unearthedperfect
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am unearthingprogressive
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are unearthingprogressive
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is unearthingprogressive
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have been unearthingperfect progressive
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has been unearthingperfect progressive
Past
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unearthedsimple
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had unearthedperfect
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was unearthingprogressive
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were unearthingprogressive
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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:
You find yourself opening up the freezer, only to unearth an unopened box of frozen pizza.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Often, solving one issue would unearth additional problems, leading to new customer requests or additional workflows.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026
Fellow hobbits “Sam, Merry and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure” while a new generation seeks to unearth a “long-buried secret.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
But the only reason that constantly trading away their top selections can be such a successful approach is the team’s uncanny ability to unearth gems in the later rounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
I put on old jeans and unearth a rake from the back of the garage.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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
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
Mr. O’Brien unearths the fact that Mr. Bird’s presence with the industrial team was so unremarkable that the local paper routinely misspelled his name.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
A quick list of new arrivals among senior staff at the Old Trafford club unearths 19 names.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 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
Two things happened on June 14: According to police audio unearthed this week, paramedics gave CPR to an “unconscious” person who’d experienced “cardiac arrest” at an address that matches McConnell’s D.C. home.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Raymond said she watched the search and counted at least 45 animal carcasses unearthed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Most primates today live in the tropics, and most primate fossils have been unearthed there too.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
Although he grew Reform's share of the vote overall, this time around his campaign was dogged by controversy over past social media comments about women unearthed by journalists and campaign groups.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
A few weeks after his return a construction project near Clovis unearthed more huge bones.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
And they’ve done it by unearthing another MVP-caliber quarterback in Drake Maye, who has the potential to torture yet another generation of Jets teams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 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
The challenge with long-held silver may be unearthing the “cost basis,” or the amount originally paid, in order to determine the profit that is subject to tax, Weltman said.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 2025
And in March, the unearthing of a 500-kilogramme World War II bomb outside Paris stranded thousands of passengers in one of the biggest rail disruptions in the French capital for years.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2025
They picked through shattered china, broken goblets, and the half-moons of delicate-stemmed glassware, unearthing more and more wealth.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
