digging

present participle of dig
1
as in excavating
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth a backhoe dug a hole in the backyard to make a swimming pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of digging Tubers that are dug for winter storage can be separated into starts at the time of digging. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025 Others are digging the W’s faster pace and perimeter evolution. Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025 Thus, upon digging deeper and listening to the complaints of others, the team quickly realized that every household has its own lifestyle and its own expectations. William Jones, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025 Chinese musician Cai Xukun, known professionally as Kun, was digging the dark atmosphere at Mugler. Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2025 Some of the activities include creating a backyard habitat; planting an urban garden; easy craft projects including making a pinecone bird feeder or constructing a frog hotel; digging a mini pond; backyard composting and assembling leaf and log piles. Martha Shade, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025 The Dachshund’s History The AKC explains that the dachshund, developed in Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries for badger hunting, was bred with short, curved legs, strong digging chests, and protective skull features to battle underground. Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 This summer, an archaeology student found an unusual ancient head with an eerie smile while digging at a Scottish farm. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025 Do yard work like raking leaves or digging a garden. Sarah Bradley, Health, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for digging
Verb
  • These connections raise the possibility that people were following camels across the desert on winter migrations, says archaeologist and study co-author Ceri Shipton, who was excavating the site, known as Jebel Misma, when his team spotted a spectacular caravan of camel carvings on May 14, 2023.
    Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Writing is an iceberg sort of art form where only 10% of the work ends up on the page; the other 90% includes excavating each character’s backstory.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The epic-length adaptation of the seminal Mary Shelley novel premiered at Venice Film Festival before enjoying surprise screenings at Telluride Film Festival and another red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival.
    J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
  • In the photo, the twins could be seen enjoying vanilla ice cream cones at a carnival.
    Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • For the first 330 days, Goldberg-Polin fought to save her son’s life, not knowing he was executed on day 328.
    Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • That dominance, with Chapman often waiting in the wings, gave Cora the advantage of managing seven-inning games, knowing any lead was likely safe over the final two frames.
    Michael Hurley, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The first meetup drew dozens of participants poking at pudding cups together.
    Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The underground pop of the 2010s used to get so excited about being online, using shrinky-dink artifice to delight in poking fun at a culture that could feel shallow and strange but also organic and endlessly renewable.
    Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Strong obliques stabilize your trunk during single-leg movements and help transfer force from your lower body to your upper body — essential in sports like tennis, baseball and golf, but just as important when raking leaves, shoveling snow or carrying groceries.
    Dana Santas, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.
    Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • There is the man who is fiercely focused on football, and there is the non-football, nature-loving Nuno.
    Paul Taylor, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The prospect of shooting those tapes is a lot more chilling to me — or at least a lot more palpable — than the idea of my kids getting snatched by a neighbor on Halloween night, and Perry makes the most of it without completely unbalancing the rest of this otherwise fun-loving omnibus.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Though historians have called for further research before making claims, the proposal of a script rooted in sign language might open the chance to explore a new way of deciphering Mayan art and show the ancient civilization to be even more sophisticated and efficient than scholars even knew.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Now, a team of international astronomers has succeeded in deciphering the gravitational wave signal, GW190412, to determine more about the collision and the resulting event that sent an infant black hole hurtling through space.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • During the ensuing fight near the trail, the man gained control of Heskett’s pocketknife, stabbing him with it, Zajac was told – an account that would unravel by day’s end.
    Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
  • In the wake of the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train, the state legislature introduced a bill to crack down on bail for violent offenders, drawing praise from one crime expert.
    Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Digging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/digging. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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