Meanings
dig1
present singular third person digs · participle present digging · participle past dug · past dug · archaic participle past digged · archaic past digged
- intransitivetransitiveTo move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More generally, to make any similar hole by moving material out of the way.
They dug an eight-foot ditch along the side of the road.
4 more examples
In the wintertime, heavy truck tires dig into the road, forming potholes.
If the plane can't pull out of the dive it is in, it'll dig a hole in the ground.
My seven-year-old son always digs a hole in the middle of his mashed potatoes and fills it with gravy before he starts to eat them.
Miss Thorn began digging up the turf with her lofter: it was a painful moment for me. ¶ “You might at least have tried me, Mrs. Cooke,” I said.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC - transitiveTo get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.
to dig up gold
1 more example
to dig potatoes
- USdatedslangTo work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously.
Peter dug at his books all the harder.
1894, Paul Leicester Ford, The Honorable Peter Stirling - figurativelyTo investigate, to research, often followed by out or up.
to dig up evidence
2 more examples
to dig out the facts
Digging deeper, the invention of eyeglasses is an elaboration of the more fundamental development of optics technology. The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.
2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist - To thrust; to poke.
He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.
1 more example
You should have seen children […] dig and push their mothers under the sides, saying thus to them: Look, mother, how great a lubber doth yet wear pearls.
1551, Thomas More, “(please specify the Internet Archive page)”, in Raphe Robynson [i.e., Ralph Robinson], transl., A Fruteful, and Pleasaunt Worke of the Best State of a Publyque Weale, and of the Newe Yle Called Utopia: […], London: […] [Steven Mierdman for] Abraham Vele, […], →OCLC
plural digs
- An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
Synonyms: excavation
- Any act of digging to find or retrieve something.
Iron Springs offers a guided clam dig for first timers or those who are rusty at spotting the clam's show at low tide. It includes a license and all the equipment you'll need to catch your limit on Copalis Beach […]
2014, Karen Gaudette Brewer, Seafood Lover's Pacific Northwest, page 128 - archaicslangA hard blow, especially (boxing) a straight left-hander delivered under the opponent's guard.
[…] 'let him go, I tell you, or I'll be after breaking your ugly mug,' and with that I gave him a dig that knocked him into smithereens.
1836, The Court Magazine and Belle Assemblée, volume 7, page 167 - ball gamesAn innings.
- A cutting, sarcastic remark.
Buckram ! that's a dig at my trade.
1838, John Baldwin Buckstone, The Irish Lion. A Farce, in One Act, page 155 more examples
Why this already very fast train should be speeded up still further, when none of the other more easily timed S.R. West of England trains has a single minute pared from its schedule, is unexplained - unless this is a playful dig at the Western Region, most of whose expresses, by reason of additional stops, will be decelerated from the same date.
1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 593Entitled 'On Several Mistakes of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia', this document is broader, more theoretical and more rambling than the Polish equivalent, identifying deep problems in many spheres. But it does get in a few digs at Slánský, accusing him of having made mistakes in recruitment to the communist party.
2012, Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56, page ccxcixUnfortunately, the man was too busy, although he said hello to the Young Man politely enough and found the time to make a few digs about the postponement of the elections.
2013, William T. Vollmann, An Afghanistan Picture Show: Or, How I Saved the WorldIn 'Sorted for E's and Whizz', Pulp's Jarvis Cocker wrote about losing an important part of his brain somewhere in a field in Hampshire, and took a dig at the rave scene for being hypocritical – idealistic and friendly when everyone was coming up on their pills, less so when everyone's coming down and you're trying to get a lift home – and essentially meaningless.
2018, Paul Maunder, The Wind At My Back: A Cycling LifeShe could have made a dig about the size of his rockets.
2021 December 8, Arwa Mahdawi, “Elon Musk is learning a hard lesson: never date a musician”, in The GuardianSynonyms: jibe
- The occupation of digging for gold.
Don Quixote told us that Western Australia was the same to him as any other country, except that it possessed the charm of novelty, and he assured us that as soon as he was well enough he would be off on the "dig" once more.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 207 - UScolloquialdatedA plodding and laborious student.
1 more example
Between the two extremes of college men the unsocial dig and the flunking swell, lies the majority, who, acknowledging the duty and merit of hard work, see the value in social and recreative line, but are at somewhat of a loss, seemingly, how to proportionize the time given to the different sides of college life, or how far to allow themselves to go on the more attractive side.
1892, Occident - Volume 22, page 36 - UKdateddialectalA tool for digging.
dig2
present singular third person digs · participle present digging · participle past dug · past dug
- datedslangTo understand.
You dig?
2 more examples
McCord has blown. Mitchell has blown. No tap on my telephone / Halderman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, and Dean / It follows a pattern if you dig what I mean
1974, “H2Ogate Blues”, in Winter in America, performed by Gil Scott-HeronOsiris: Pimpin' has been around since the world started turnin' and it's gonna keep right on turnin' right along with it. Until this little planet rotates off its axis as a result of its core overheating and explodes into cosmic dust! Can you dig it? Chocolate Giddy-Up: It's dug, brotha.
2009 October 16, Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Scott Sanders, 41:40 from the start, in Black Dynamite, spoken by Osiris and Chocolate Giddy-Up (Obba Babatundé and Cedric Yarbrough), ARS Nova; distributed by Apparition; Destination Films - datedslangtransitiveTo appreciate, or like.
Baby, I dig you.
3 more examples
«And dig her!» yelled Dean, pointing at another woman. «Oh, I love, love, love women! I think women are wonderful! I love women!»
1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, chapter 6, in On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC, part 2Oh, but California / California, I'm coming home / I'm going to see the folks I dig
1971, Joni Mitchell, “California”, in BlueLouie said, "I dig this Theo. I'm gonna learn Swahili and rap with him."
1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 432
dig3
dig4
plural digs
- obsoleteLancashireA duck.
Powltrey, &c, &c. Item ten turkeys … Item three Digs [an old Cheshire word for duck] and a Drake … Item ffower Capons … [The word's gloss has been inserted by Earwaker]
10 March, 1616, excerpt from "A true and perfect Inventory of all the Goods &c. which late were of Philippe Oldfeid," reprinted in 1890, J.P. Earwaker (ed., compiler), "Badwall Township: Berington of Moorsbarrow and Bradwall, Pedigree" in [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_history_of_the_ancient_parish_of_San/kkMHAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 The History of the Ancient Parish of Sandbach, Co. Chester. […] ]2 more examples
dig, or digg, s.—A duck. A gentleman introduced a man to an old lady in America as an inhaitant of Cheshire, her old county. "I'll soon see," said she, "if he is reet Cheshire born. Tell me," said she to the man, "what a dig, a snig, a grig, a peckled poot, and a peannot are?" B. Kennett in his Glossary of the British Museum, has the word "dig." "As fierce as a dig," is a Lancashire and probably a Cheshire proverb, and reminds one of the Cloucestershire name for a sheep, viz.: "A Cotswold lion."
1877, Lieut.-Col. Egerton Leigh, M.P., A Glossary of Words Used in The Dialect of Cheshire., London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., pages 61–62Smith's farm was near to Parrs; new buildings had been built in the Hemp Croft. He carried coals in his cart by an inside chest, and had three hives of bees and several spinning wheels; his poultry comprised four hens, two diggs or ducks, and one drake. His total estate was £66. 10s.
1953, John Lunn, “Beasts on the Common, 1613”, in A Short History of the Township of Tyldesley […] , Longsight, Manchester: Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited
DIG5
dIG6
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
nounA thrust; a poke.
nounA cutting, sarcastic remark.
noundwarf irregular galaxy
More synonyms by meaning
nounan aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
verbget the meaning of something
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
dig · verb, noun
- Old French*diguer
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeygʷ-“to stab, dig”
- Proto-Germanic*dīkaz“pool, puddle; dyke, ditch”
- Proto-West Germanic*dīkōn
- Old Englishdīcian“to dig a ditch, mound up earth”
- Middle Englishdiggen
- Englishdig
From Middle English diggen (“to dig”, 13th c.), an alteration of dīken, from Old English dīcian (“to dig a ditch, mound up earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *dīkōn, which see for cognates. This verb is denominal from Proto-Germanic *dīkaz (“pool, puddle; dyke, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to stab, dig”). The form with g may have been influenced by Old French *diguer, a variant of dikier, itself from the West Germanic verb above. French forms with g are attested only in the 15th c., thus 200 years later than in English. On the other hand, French has according forms also for the underlying noun (cf. digue) and the phonetic development is more plausible in French than in English.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →dig · verb
- Irishdtuig
- Wolofdëgg
- Englishdig
From African American Vernacular English; due to lack of writing of slave speech, etymology is difficult to trace, but it has been suggested that it is from Wolof dëgg, dëgga (“to understand, to appreciate”). It has also been suggested that it is from Irish dtuig, thus being a doublet of twig. Others do not propose a distinct etymology, instead considering this a semantic shift of the existing English term (compare dig in/dig into).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans grawe, spit
- graweto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- spitto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- delfto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- opgrawingarcheological investigation
Ancient Greek σκάπτω, ὀρύσσω
- σκάπτω (skáptō)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ὀρύσσω (orússō)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Arabic حَفَرَ, اِحْتَفَرَ
- حَفَرَ (ḥafara)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- اِحْتَفَرَ (iḥtafara)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Bulgarian копа́я, разкопа́вам
- копа́я (kopája)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- разкопа́вам (razkopávam)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ро́вя (róvja)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ри́я (ríja)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- изкопа́вам (izkopávam)get by digging, take up from the ground
- разкопки (razkopki)archeological investigation
Catalan cavar, excavar
- cavarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- excavarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- excavacióarcheological investigation
Chinese Mandarin 挖, 挖掘
- 挖 (wā)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- 挖掘 (wājué)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- 掘 (jué)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Czech kopat, rýt
- kopatto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- rýtto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- brátslang: to understand or show interest in
- žrátslang: to appreciate, or like
Danish grave, udgravning
- graveto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- udgravningarcheological investigation
- forståslang: to understand or show interest in
- være medslang: to understand or show interest in
- kunne lideslang: to appreciate, or like
Dutch graven, delven
- gravento move hard-packed earth out of the way
- delvento move hard-packed earth out of the way
- opgravingarcheological investigation
Esperanto fosi
- fosito move hard-packed earth out of the way
Estonian kaevama
- kaevamato move hard-packed earth out of the way
Finnish kaivaa, kaivaa
- kaivaato move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kaivaaget by digging, take up from the ground
- kaivauksetarcheological investigation
- tajutaslang: to understand or show interest in
- digataslang: to appreciate, or like
French creuser, excaver
- creuserto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- excaverget by digging, take up from the ground
- fouillearcheological investigation
- pigerslang: to understand or show interest in
- kifferslang: to appreciate, or like
German graben, Grabung
- grabento move hard-packed earth out of the way
- Grabungarcheological investigation
- Ausgrabungarcheological investigation
Greek σκάβω, ανασκαφή
- σκάβω (skávo)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ανασκαφή (anaskafí)archeological investigation
Hebrew חָפַר, חפירות
- חָפַר (khafár)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- חפירות (khafirot)archeological investigation
Hindi खोदना
- खोदना (khodnā)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Hungarian ás, túr
- ásto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- túrto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ásget by digging, take up from the ground
- kiásget by digging, take up from the ground
- vágslang: to understand or show interest in
- bírslang: to appreciate, or like
Icelandic grafa, uppgröftur
- grafato move hard-packed earth out of the way
- uppgröfturarcheological investigation
- skiljaslang: to understand or show interest in
- vera meðslang: to understand or show interest in
- fílaslang: to appreciate, or like
Indonesian gali
- galito move hard-packed earth out of the way
Irish tochail, rómhair
- tochailto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- rómhairto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- bainget by digging, take up from the ground
- tuigslang: to understand or show interest in
Italian scavare, scavi
- scavareto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- scaviarcheological investigation
Japanese 掘る
- 掘る (horu)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Korean 파다
- 파다 (pada)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Latin fodiō, cavō
- fodiōto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- cavōto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Latvian rakt
- raktto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Lithuanian kasti, rausti
- kastito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- raustito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kastiget by digging, take up from the ground
- iškastiget by digging, take up from the ground
Malay gali, korek
- galito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- korekto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Māori karituangi, kari
- karituangito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- karito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- tīkakukakuto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ketuto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kerito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kōto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kōhureto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- whakapākihito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- pūkarito move hard-packed earth out of the way
- houhouget by digging, take up from the ground
- tīpokaget by digging, take up from the ground
- karokaroget by digging, take up from the ground
Norwegian digge
- diggeslang: to appreciate, or like
Norwegian Bokmål grave
- graveto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Polish kopać, wykopywać
- kopaćto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- wykopywaćto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ryćto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- wykopaćget by digging, take up from the ground
- wykopaliskoarcheological investigation
Portuguese cavar, escavar
- cavarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- escavarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- cavarget by digging, take up from the ground
- escavarget by digging, take up from the ground
- escavaçãoarcheological investigation
- curtirslang: to appreciate, or like
- gostarslang: to appreciate, or like
Romanian săpa, excava
- săpato move hard-packed earth out of the way
- excavato move hard-packed earth out of the way
Russian копа́ть, выка́пывать
- копа́ть (kopátʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- выка́пывать (vykápyvatʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- вы́копать (výkopatʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- копну́ть (kopnútʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- рыть (rytʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- вы́рыть (výrytʹ)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- выка́пывать (vykápyvatʹ)get by digging, take up from the ground
- вы́копать (výkopatʹ)get by digging, take up from the ground
- раско́пки (raskópki)archeological investigation
Scottish Gaelic cladhaich
- cladhaichto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Slovak kopať, ryť
- kopaťto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ryťto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Spanish ahondar, cavar
- ahondarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- cavarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ahoyarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- escarbarto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- excavaciónarcheological investigation
- picar el interésslang: to understand or show interest in
- llamar la atenciónslang: to understand or show interest in
- caer bienslang: to appreciate, or like
- simpatizarslang: to appreciate, or like
Swedish gräva, utgrävning
- grävato move hard-packed earth out of the way
- utgrävningarcheological investigation
- vara medslang: to understand or show interest in
- diggaslang: to appreciate, or like
Tagalog maghukay, hukayin
- maghukayto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- hukayinto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- dukalinto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Tamil தோண்டு, நோண்டு
- தோண்டு (tōṇṭu)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- நோண்டு (nōṇṭu)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Thai ขุด
- ขุด (kùt)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Turkish kazmak, kazı
- kazmakto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- kazıarcheological investigation
Ukrainian копа́ти, ри́ти
- копа́ти (kopáty)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- ри́ти (rýty)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
- вико́пувати (vykópuvaty)get by digging, take up from the ground
- ви́копати (výkopaty)get by digging, take up from the ground
- вирива́ти (vyryváty)get by digging, take up from the ground
- ви́рити (výryty)get by digging, take up from the ground
Urdu کھودْنا
- کھودْنا (khodnā)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Vietnamese đào, bới
- đàoto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- bớito move hard-packed earth out of the way
Welsh cloddio, palu
- cloddioto move hard-packed earth out of the way
- paluto move hard-packed earth out of the way
Yiddish גראָבן
- גראָבן (grobn)to move hard-packed earth out of the way
Zulu -mba
- -mbato move hard-packed earth out of the way
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dig
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
dig. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dig
“dig.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dig. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dig,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dig.
Source: dig on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.