dig

play

verb \ ˈdig \

Definition of dig

dug play \ˈdəg\; digging

transitive verb

1 a :to break up, turn, or loosen (earth) with an implement

digging dirt with a shovel

machines digging up the road

b :to prepare the soil of

dig a garden

2 a :to bring to the surface by digging :unearth

dig potatoes

b :to bring to light or out of hiding

dig up facts

3 :to hollow out or form by removing earth :excavate

dig a hole

dig a tunnel

4 :to drive down so as to penetrate :thrust

dug her toes into the sand

The hawk dug its claws into its prey.

5 :poke, prod

dug me in the ribs with his elbow

6 slang

a :to pay attention to :notice

dig that fancy hat

b :understand, appreciate

couldn't dig the medical jargon

c :like, admire

High school students dig short poetry.
—David Burmester

intransitive verb

1 :to turn up, loosen, or remove earth

digging in the garden

dig for buried treasure

2 :to work hard or laboriously

3 :to advance by or as if by removing or pushing aside material

digging into the history of the company

See dig defined for English-language learners

See dig defined for kids

Examples of dig in a Sentence

Some animal has been digging in the garden.
They dug into the sand with their hands.
He dug down about 10 feet before he hit water.
Dig a hole three feet deep.
The first step in building a house is to dig the foundation.
The prisoners escaped by digging a tunnel under the fence.
digging clams on the beach
These detectives won't stop digging until they find out what happened.

Recent Examples of dig from the Web

Some neighborhoods have dug ravines to ease the damage.

— Bloomberg.com, "Niger Rains Kill More Than 40 in and Around Capital," 29 Aug. 2017
Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around.

— mike lindblom, The Seattle Times, "King County Metro plans single-rate bus fares systemwide," 24 Aug. 2017
With Republicans offering little cover to the president, Democrats dug in even deeper.

— russell berman, The Atlantic, "Is a Government Shutdown Inevitable?," 24 Aug. 2017
Bring children ages 2-5 to Patch Reef Park, 2000 Yamato Road in Boca Raton from 10 a.m. to noon to walk the plank, dig for treasure and enjoy more fun activities at the Pirates' Cove Playground, featuring a water play area.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "What to do with the kids this weekend: World fest, free parks, open houses," 23 Aug. 2017
Hundreds of other victims were buried by their relatives during the fighting in gardens or makeshift cemeteries dug in empty lots.

— aaso ameen schwan, Washington Post, "After ‘victory’ over ISIS, Mosul discovers the cost: Homes were turned into graves.," 23 Aug. 2017
But the new policy shows Trump’s Treasury digging even deeper into the murky world of luxury real estate.

— nicholas nehamas and rene rodriguez, miamiherald, "Feds widen hunt for dirty money in Miami real estate," 23 Aug. 2017
Rather, dig deeper before making investments in a player subset with a variable frequency of failure.

— chris blessing, USA TODAY, "Fantasy baseball: Late-season call-ups come with risk," 23 Aug. 2017
Fans have also dug up rumors that Taylor is going to release some big news Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. Eastern, which is when the eclipse is set to hit the East Coast.

— megan friedman, Cosmopolitan, "[UPDATED] Taylor Swift Just Posted a Video of a Snake to Social Media and the Internet Cannot Handle It," 23 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dig.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dig

Middle English diggen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

dig Synonyms

Synonyms

excavate, shovel

Antonyms

miss

Related Words

dredge; burrow, claw, grub; dig in; scoop, spade; delve; mine, quarry

Near Antonyms

fill (in); smooth (out or over)

dig

noun

Definition of dig

1 a :thrust, poke

a dig in the ribs

b :a cutting remark

a subtle dig at their lack of preparedness

2 digs plural

a :accommodations (see accommodation 1a) for living or working

buying furniture for his new digs

b chiefly British :lodging 2b

3 :an archaeological excavation site; also :the excavation itself

participated in a dig

See dig defined for English-language learners

Examples of dig in a Sentence

She gave me a dig in the ribs to get my attention.
She participated in a dig last summer.

Recent Examples of dig from the Web

Returning All-American Courtney Schwan led the Huskies with 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Freshman Lauren Sanders has big debut as Washington volleyball team wins season opener," 25 Aug. 2017
Seemingly satisfied with his digs at McCain and Flake, Trump moved on to other topics.

— sean sullivan, Washington Post, "Trump hits McCain and Flake in Arizona without naming them — and appears to relish it," 22 Aug. 2017
On a recent Saturday, tucked away off Pope Lick Road on 12-and-a-half acres, skateboarders glided on and off a 44-foot wide plywood half-pipe for Farm Party, an invitation-only summer skate and music shin-dig.

— matt stone, The Courier-Journal, "Farm Party: An invite-only shin-dig where skateboarding, music and friends collide," 18 Aug. 2017
Defensively, Jocelyn Mahayag was all over the place, topping all players with 14 digs.

— mobile athletics, AL.com, "(RV) Mobile Start Season with a Victory in Straight Sets Against Tennessee Wesleyan," 18 Aug. 2017
Eighth in kills (1,358), 11th in digs (1,191) and fourth in attack attempts (3,930).

— patrick brennan, Cincinnati.com, "Xavier announces 2017-18 athletics HOF class," 8 Aug. 2017
But Kelly’s biggest challenge may be trying to keep Trump from undercutting his own message with tweets and unfiltered commentary, including threats and digs directed at members of his own party and his own administration. ‘

— toluse olorunnipa, Bloomberg.com, "Ivanka, Kushner Give Kelly Support That Priebus Never Got," 31 July 2017
Reba McEntire has officially sold her Nashville digs.

— perri ormont blumberg, Southern Living, "Just Sold! Tour Reba McEntire's Former Nashville Estate," 15 July 2017
Rustic, shoebox- size abodes start at $25, while $68 buys larger digs designed for such species as Western screech owls.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of dig

see ¹dig

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1797

See Words from the same year

dig Synonyms

Synonyms

dab, ¹poke, jab, lunge

Related Words

punch; stab, stick; push, shove; jam, jerk, jog, nudge

Near Antonyms

accolade, commendation, compliment; acclaim, applause, praise; adulation, flattery

Other Archaeology Terms

Attic, Byzantine, Paleolithic, cairn, core, flint, horizon, neolithic, shard, stratum

dig

abbreviation

Definition of dig

digest

DIG Defined for English Language Learners

dig

play

verb

Definition of dig for English Language Learners

: to move soil, sand, snow, etc., in order to create a hole
: to form (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing soil, sand, snow, etc.
: to uncover (something that is underground) by moving earth, soil, sand, etc.

dig

noun

Definition of dig for English Language Learners

: a push with a body part (such as your elbow) : a poke or thrust
: a criticism or insult that is directed toward a particular person or group
: a place where scientists try to find buried objects by digging; also : the act of digging for buried objects

DIG Defined for Kids

dig

play

verb \ ˈdig \

Definition of dig for Students

dug \ˈdəg\; digging

1 :to turn up, loosen, or remove the soil

The dog was digging in the garden again.

2 :to turn up or remove with a shovel or by similar means

I dug into the snow.

3 :to form by removing earth

dig a hole

dig a cellar

4 :to uncover or search by or as if by turning up earth

They dug for gold.

5 :¹prod 1, poke

He dug me in the ribs.

— dig in

:to begin eating

Supper's ready, so dig in.

— dig into

1 :to begin eating

He dug into a plate of pasta.

2 :to try to discover information

Reporters were digging into the story.

— dig up

1 :to uncover or remove (as from soil)

dig up a bush

2 :discover

I dug up information about her past.

dig

noun

Definition of dig for Students

1 :²poke

a dig in the ribs

2 :a place where buried objects are being uncovered

a dinosaur dig

3 :a project to uncover buried objects

The bones were found during a recent dig.

4 :a nasty remark

She got in a dig about forgetting her birthday.

Learn More about dig

See words that rhyme with dig Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dig Spanish Central: Translation of dig Nglish: Translation of dig for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dig for Arabic speakers

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dig

Definition of dig

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Origin and Etymology of dig

dig Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Near Antonyms

dig

Definition of dig

Examples of dig in a Sentence

Recent Examples of dig from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dig

dig Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Archaeology Terms

dig

Definition of dig

Phrases Related to DIG

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DIG Defined for English Language Learners

dig

Definition of dig for English Language Learners

dig

Definition of dig for English Language Learners

DIG Defined for Kids

dig

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dig

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