Synonyms of digging

digging

verb

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

• excavating
• shoveling
• dredging
• clawing
• mining
• grubbing
• burrowing
• delving
• scooping
• quarrying
• spading
• digging in

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filling (in)
• smoothing (out or over)

2

as in enjoying

to take pleasure in

I really dig bluegrass music

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enjoying
• savoring
• loving
• liking
• relishing
• fancying
• taking to
• getting off (on)
• admiring
• grooving (on)
• rejoicing (in)
• going for
• appreciating
• adoring
• reveling (in)
• delighting (in)
• getting a kick out of
• revering
• venerating
• valuing
• having a soft spot for
• being partial to
• treasuring
• worshipping
• devouring
• drinking (in)
• eating (up)
• cherishing
• preferring
• feasting (on)
• prizing
• idolizing
• doting (on)
• indulging (in)
• favoring
• luxuriating (in)
• wallowing (in)
• cottoning (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hating
• disliking
• detesting
• loathing
• abhorring
• condemning
• despising
• abominating
• scorning

3

as in knowing

to have a clear idea of

can you dig what I'm saying?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• knowing
• deciphering
• understanding
• grasping
• seeing
• recognizing
• comprehending
• appreciating
• getting
• realizing
• sensing
• making
• discerning
• seizing
• perceiving
• decoding
• conceiving
• assimilating
• intuiting
• apprehending
• registering
• catching
• twigging
• tumbling (to)
• beholding
• grokking
• making out
• savvying
• catching on (to)
• cognizing
• compassing
• digesting
• picking up on
• fathoming
• absorbing
• cottoning (to or on to)
• penetrating
• taking in
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missing
• misunderstanding
• misreading
• misinterpreting
• mistaking
• misconstruing
• misconceiving
• misperceiving
• misapprehending

4

as in poking

to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object

every time I slowed down, he'd dig me in the ribs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poking
• stabbing
• prodding
• punching
• spurring
• goading
• knocking
• jabbing
• nudging
• drilling
• jogging
• sticking
• chucking
• perforating
• pricking
• propelling
• driving
• puncturing
• piercing
• boring
• haling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of digging

The work required felling primeval trees measuring six feet in diameter and digging a deep trench through the marsh to accommodate boat traffic. —Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026

Their claws are longer than those of black bears, and used for digging and scraping. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2026

The internet — primed by years of Sherry Pie-style scandals and alumni drama — began digging. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026

The approach has been introduced in other outer boroughs, because with every additional acre the city expands capacity without digging another mile of pipe. —Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026

Yang is part of a generation of workers that powered China's growth by digging coal from underground mines in Datong, a city known as China's coal capital in the northern province of Shanxi. —ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026

Videos shared by the Iranian Red Crescent Society show rescue crews digging through rubble at what the aid agency described as the site of an airstrike in Tehran. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026

In the Mesopotamian creation myth, the Anunnaki, the Big Gods, and the Igigi, the Little Gods, drew sticks to decide who would do the hard labor of digging the channel that would become the Euphrates river. —Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 6 Apr. 2026

Is Suzanna’s gloomy neediness all that different from Becky’s gold-digging manipulations? —Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026