Adjacent Words

Dig definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DIG, v.t. pret. Digger or dug; pp. Digged or dug. [G.]
1. To open and break or turn up the earth with a spade or other sharp instrument.
Be first to dig the ground.
2. To excavate; to form an opening in the earth by digging and removing the loose earth; as, to dig a well, a pit or a mine.
3. To pierce or open with a snout or by other means, as swine or moles.
4. To pierce with a pointed instrument; to thrust in.
Still for the growing liver digged his breast.
To dig down, is to undermine and cause to fall by digging; as, to dig down a wall.
To dig out, or to dig from, is to obtain by digging; as, to dig coals from a mine; to dig out fossils. But the preposition is often omitted, and it is said, the men are digging coals, or digging iron ore. In such phrases, some word is understood; They are digging out ore, or digging for coals, or digging ore from the earth.
To dig up, is to obtain something from the earth by opening it, or uncovering the thing with a spade or other instrument, or to force out from the earth by a bar; as, to dig up a stone.
DIG, v.i.
1. To work with a spade or other piercing instrument; to do servile work.
I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. Luke 16.
2. To work in search of; to search.
They dig for it, more than for hid treasures. Job 3.
To dig in, is to pierce with a spade or other pointed instrument.
Son of man, dig now in the wall. Ezek 8.
To dig through, to open a passage through; to make an opening from one side to the other.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the site of an archeological exploration; "they set up camp next to the dig" [syn: dig, excavation, archeological site]
2: an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect; "his parting shot was `drop dead'"; "she threw shafts of sarcasm"; "she takes a dig at me every chance she gets" [syn: shot, shaft, slam, dig, barb, jibe, gibe]
3: a small gouge (as in the cover of a book); "the book was in good condition except for a dig in the back cover"
4: the act of digging; "there's an interesting excavation going on near Princeton" [syn: excavation, digging, dig]
5: the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow; "she gave me a sharp dig in the ribs" [syn: dig, jab] v
1: turn up, loosen, or remove earth; "Dig we must"; "turn over the soil for aeration" [syn: dig, delve, cut into, turn over]
2: create by digging; "dig a hole"; "dig out a channel" [syn: dig, dig out]
3: work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil]
4: remove, harvest, or recover by digging; "dig salt"; "dig coal" [syn: dig, dig up, dig out]
5: thrust down or into; "dig the oars into the water"; "dig your foot into the floor"
6: remove the inner part or the core of; "the mining company wants to excavate the hillside" [syn: excavate, dig, hollow]
7: poke or thrust abruptly; "he jabbed his finger into her ribs" [syn: jab, prod, stab, poke, dig]
8: get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?" [syn: grok, get the picture, comprehend, savvy, dig, grasp, compass, apprehend]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (dug; digging) Etymology: Middle English diggen Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to break up, turn, or loosen (as earth) with an implement 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> 4. to drive down so as to penetrate ; thrust 5. poke, prod 6. 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 ; delve 2. to work hard or laboriously 3. to advance by or as if by removing or pushing aside material II. noun Date: 1797 1. a. thrust, poke b. a cutting remark 2. plural a. accommodations for living or working b. chiefly British lodging, hotel 3. an archaeological excavation site; also the excavation itself III. abbreviation digest

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (digging; past and past part. dug) 1 intr. break up and remove or turn over soil, ground, etc., with a tool, one's hands, (of an animal) claws, etc. 2 tr. a break up and displace (the ground etc.) in this way. b (foll. by up) break up the soil of (fallow land). 3 tr. make (a hole, grave, tunnel, etc.) by digging. 4 tr. (often foll. by up, out) a obtain or remove by digging. b find or discover after searching. 5 tr. (also absol.) excavate (an archaeological site). 6 tr. sl. like, appreciate, or understand. 7 tr. & intr. (foll. by in, into) thrust or poke into or down into. 8 intr. make one's way by digging (dug through the mountainside). --n. 1 a piece of digging. 2 a thrust or poke (a dig in the ribs). 3 colloq. (often foll. by at) a pointed or critical remark. 4 an archaeological excavation. 5 (in pl.) Brit. colloq. lodgings. Phrases and idioms: dig one's feet (or heels or toes) in be obstinate. dig in colloq. begin eating. dig oneself in 1 prepare a defensive trench or pit. 2 establish one's position. Etymology: ME digge, of uncert. orig.: cf. OE dic ditch

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dig Dig, n. 1. A tool for digging. [Dial. Eng.] 2. An act of digging. 3. An amount to be dug. 4. (Mining) = Gouge.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dig Dig, v. i. 1. To work hard or drudge; specif. (U. S.): To study ploddingly and laboriously. [Colloq.] Peter dug at his books all the harder. --Paul L. Ford. 2. (Mach.) Of a tool: To cut deeply into the work because ill set, held at a wrong angle, or the like, as when a lathe tool is set too low and so sprung into the work. To dig out, to depart; to leave, esp. hastily; decamp. [Slang, U. S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dig Dig, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dugor Digged; p. pr. & vb. n. Digging. -- Digged is archaic.] [OE. diggen, perh. the same word as diken, dichen (see Dike, Ditch); cf. Dan. dige to dig, dige a ditch; or (?) akin to E. 1st dag. ???.] 1. To turn up, or delve in, (earth) with a spade or a hoe; to open, loosen, or break up (the soil) with a spade, or other sharp instrument; to pierce, open, or loosen, as if with a spade. Be first to dig the ground. --Dryden. 2. To get by digging; as, to dig potatoes, or gold. 3. To hollow out, as a well; to form, as a ditch, by removing earth; to excavate; as, to dig a ditch or a well. 4. To thrust; to poke. [Colloq.] 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. --Robynson (More's Utopia). To dig down, to undermine and cause to fall by digging; as, to dig down a wall. To dig from, out of, out, or up, to get out or obtain by digging; as, to dig coal from or out of a mine; to dig out fossils; to dig up a tree. The preposition is often omitted; as, the men are digging coal, digging iron ore, digging potatoes. To dig in, to cover by digging; as, to dig in manure.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dig Dig, n. 1. A thrust; a punch; a poke; as, a dig in the side or the ribs. See Dig, v. t., 4. [Colloq.] 2. A plodding and laborious student. [Cant, U.S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dig Dig, v. i. 1. To work with a spade or other like implement; to do servile work; to delve. Dig for it more than for hid treasures. --Job iii. 21. I can not dig; to beg I am ashamed. --Luke xvi. 3. 2. (Mining) To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore. 3. To work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously. [Cant, U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(digs, digging, dug) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If people or animals dig, they make a hole in the ground or in a pile of earth, stones, or rubbish. They tried digging in a patch just below the cave... Dig a largish hole and bang the stake in first... Rescue workers are digging through the rubble in search of other victims... They dug for shellfish at low tide... VERB: V, V n, V through n, V for n 2. If you dig into something such as a deep container, you put your hand in it to search for something. He dug into his coat pocket for his keys. = delve VERB: V into/in n 3. If you dig one thing into another or if one thing digs into another, the first thing is pushed hard into the second, or presses hard into it. She digs the serving spoon into the moussaka... He could feel the beads digging into his palm... VERB: V n into n, V into n 4. If you dig into a subject or a store of information, you study it very carefully in order to discover or check facts. The enquiry dug deeper into the alleged financial misdeeds of his government... He has been digging into the local archives... = probe VERB: V into n, V into n 5. If you dig yourself out of a difficult or unpleasant situation, especially one which you caused yourself, you manage to get out of it. He's taken these measures to try and dig himself out of a hole. VERB: V pron-refl 6. A dig is an organized activity in which people dig into the ground in order to discover ancient historical objects. He's an archaeologist and has been on a dig in Crete for the past year. = excavation N-COUNT: oft on N 7. If you have a dig at someone, you say something which is intended to make fun of them or upset them. She couldn't resist a dig at Dave after his unfortunate performance. = gibe N-COUNT: usu N at n 8. If you give someone a dig in a part of their body, you push them with your finger or your elbow, usually as a warning or as a joke. N-COUNT 9. If you live in digs, you live in a room in someone else's house and pay them rent. (BRIT INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED) He went to London and lived in digs in Gloucester Road... = lodgings N-PLURAL: oft in N 10. to dig one's heels in: see heel

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(qur, "to dig", chathar; diorusso, "to dig through"): "I have digged (dug) and drunk strange waters" (2Ki 19:24). In his campaigns on foreign soil, where the enemy had stopped up the watersprings, Sennacherib would at once dig fresh wells for his armies. "They dig through houses" (Job 24:16; Mt 6:19,20 margin). Walls of eastern houses are often made of mud or clay, and frequently have no windows; and as the threshold of a Syrian house is sacred, the thief breaks in through the wall (see Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant).

M. O. Evans

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Excavate, delve, scoop, hollow out. 2. Break up (with a spade, hoe, or the like). II. v. n. Delve, work with a spade, hoe, etc. III. n. 1. Punch, poke, thrust. 2. [At colleges, U. S.] Plodding student.

Moby Thesaurus

Parthian shot, abide, absorb, abysm, abyss, accept, appreciate, apprehend, assault, assimilate, back answer, backset, bang, bash, bat, be affected, be in tune, be inspired, be involved, be moved, be with one, bear, bear upon, bearing, beat the bushes, beating, belt, bide, biff, blow, bone, bonk, boost, bore, bring in, buck, bull, bulldoze, bump, bump against, bunt, burrow, butt, butt against, care about, catch, catch on, catch the flame, catch the infection, caustic remark, change color, chasm, chop, clip, clout, clump, color with emotion, comeback, comprehend, con, conceive, contemplate, countersink, crack, cram, crop, crop herbs, crowd, cultivate, culture, cut, cutting remark, dash, deepen, delve, depress, dig out, dig up, digest, diggings, dike, dint, dive, dredge, dress, drill, drive, drub, drubbing, drudge, drumming, dump, dwell, echo, elbow, elucubrate, empathize with, enter, examine, excavate, excavation, explore, fag, fallow, fathom, fertilize, fleer, flout, follow, foolery, forage, force, frisk, furrow, fusillade, gather, gather in, get, get hold of, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, gibe, gibing retort, glean, go, go over, go through, goad, gouge, gouge out, grabble, grasp, grind, groove, grub, gulf, hammer, hammer away, hang out, harrow, harvest, have, have it taped, hay, head, hit, hoe, hunt, hurtle, hustle, identify with, jab, jam, jape, jeer, jest, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle, ken, knock, know, learn, leg-pull, lick, like, list, live, look around, look round, look through, lower, lucubrate, master, mind, mine, mock, moil, mow, mulch, nose around, nudge, nut, parting shot, peg, peg away, pelt, penetrate, peruse, pick, pierce, pile drive, pit, plod, plow, pluck, plug, plug along, plug away, plunge, plunge into, plunk, poke, poke around, pore over, pound, pound away, practice, press, pressure, probe, prod, prune, pry, punch, push, put-down, put-on, quarry, quip, rake, ram, ram down, rap, rattle, react, read, realize, reap, reap and carry, regard studiously, relate to emotionally, relish, research, respond, restudy, review, root, root out, rude reproach, run, run against, sap, savvy, scoff, scoop, scoop out, scrabble, scrape, scratch, scurrility, search, search through, see, seize, seize the meaning, sense, shaft, shake, share, short answer, shoulder, shove, shovel, sink, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smash, smell around, sock, spade, stab, stick, stress, stroke, study, swat, swing, swipe, swot, sympathize with, take, take in, tamp, tattoo, taunt, thin, thin out, thrust, thump, thwack, till, till the soil, toil, travail, trench, trough, tunnel, twit, understand, verbal thrust, vet, wade through, weed, weed out, well, whack, whop, work, work away, workings, yerk