dig in

verb

dug in; digging in; digs in

transitive verb

1

: to cover or incorporate by burying

dig in compost

2

: to establish in a dug defensive position

the platoon was well dug in

intransitive verb

1

: to establish a defensive position especially by digging trenches

2

a

: to go resolutely to work

b

: to begin eating

3

: to hold stubbornly to a position

4

: to scuff the ground for better footing while batting (as in baseball)

see also:

dig in one's heels

Examples of dig in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With the promise of better batting conditions on a sunnier afternoon, New Zealand dug in and England could prise out only Conway and Latham. —ABC News, 17 June 2026

There was a message there, for certain, the kind of message teams send about when they are no longer resigned to losing, will no longer allow hitters to dig in, crowd the plate, swing from the heels with impunity. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2026

On a new episode of Call Her Daddy, Wilde digs in, addressing many of those controversies head-on while eliding others. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 June 2026

So that was getting to really dig in on a network TV show. —Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for dig in

• trigone

Kids Definition

dig in

verb

1

: to dig and take position in a trench

the soldiers dug in

2

a

: to go to work

b

: to begin eating