as in labored
to devote serious and sustained effort
it took days of digging away at the subject, but he understands it thoroughly now
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dug (away)
Verb
-
In many years on dairy farms, the worker often labored for 10 hours with no breaks.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026 -
Lamarck surely labored over these Romantic effusions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For years, the LAPD struggled to clear a decades-old backlog of untested rape kits that at one point ballooned in number to more than 6,100.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Kilmer, who died from throat cancer at 65, signed on to the project, but struggled with health issues once production began.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sharing the ball helps fuel Magic winning streak The Magic got the win over the Bulls by sticking to what’s worked best during Orlando’s five-game winning streak.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The system worked properly to prevent tripping of additional breakers.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Johnson for months endeavored to appoint his ally ex-Ald.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Along the way, Pollan endeavored to find answers to some of the most fundamental questions of existence, like why is there a subjective self at all?—
Nick Hilden,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Dug (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dug%20%28away%29. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
