Skip to content
WORDS, MADE CLEAR.
Your everyday English companion

English definitions, pronunciation, examples & related words

Try a word:stashserendipityresilientbeautifulincfidelibus

Home/Dictionary/dig
English dictionary

dig Meaning & Definition

/dɪɡ/

What Does Dig Mean?

Dig is used as a symbol meaning ISO 639-3 language code for Digo. As a verb, it means To 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. As a noun, it means An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.

Dig: Key Facts

Part of speechsymbol, verb, noun
Pronunciation/dɪɡ/
Synonymshollow, comprehend and travail
Pluraldigs
Verb formsdigs, digging, dug

Dig Definition (Symbol)

  1. ISO 639-3 language code for Digo.

Dig as a Verb

  1. To 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.

  2. To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.

    to dig potatoes

  3. To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
  4. To work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously.
  5. To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up.

    to dig up evidence

  6. To thrust; to poke.

    He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.

  7. To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball

Dig as a Noun

  1. An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
  2. Any act of digging to find or retrieve something.
  3. A thrust; a poke.

    He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.

  4. A hard blow, especially a straight left-hander delivered under the opponent's guard.
  5. A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.
  6. An innings.
  7. A cutting, sarcastic remark.
  8. The occupation of digging for gold.
  9. A plodding and laborious student.
  10. A tool for digging.
  11. A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand.

    a £1 charity shop dig

Verb

  1. To understand.

    You dig?

  2. To appreciate, or like.

    Baby, I dig you.

Noun

  1. Digoxin.

    dig toxicity

Noun

  1. A duck.

Verb

  1. To understand or show interest in.

    You dig?

Synonyms of Dig

hollowcomprehendtravailapprehendsavvygrindjibeslamproddrudgebarbpokestabcompassshotexcavatelaborfagexcavationdiggingturn overdig outget the picturecut intodelvegibegraspjablabourmoilshafttoil
Dig synonyms and antonyms →

Dig in a Sentence

They dug an eight-foot ditch along the side of the road.

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.

to dig potatoes

to dig up gold

to dig up evidence

to dig out the facts

He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.

He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.

a £1 charity shop dig

You dig?

Baby, I dig you.

dig toxicity

Word Forms & Grammar

dig (third-person singular simple present digs, present participle digging, simple past and past participle dug or (archaic) digged)

dig (plural digs)

dig (third-person singular simple present digs, present participle digging, simple past and past participle dug)

dig (uncountable)

Words That Rhyme With Dig

bigprigrenegeswigtwigpigtrigfiggigrigbrigbigwigwiggiguesigmigtigzigdigueoil rigcat righermaphrodite brigdrilling rigsuckling pigsacred figstrangler figcinder pigcommon figdrill rigmistletoe fig

Origin of Dig

Origin 1: 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”).

Origin 2: 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.

Origin 3: 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”).[1] It has also been suggested that it is from Irish dtuig, thus being a doublet of twig.[2] Others do not propose a distinct etymology, instead considering this a semantic shift of the existing English term (compare dig in/dig into).[3]

Origin 4: Shortening.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dig

Is dig a symbol or a verb?

Dig is mainly used as a symbol, but it can also be used as a verb and a noun.

What is another word for dig?

You can replace dig with words such as hollow, comprehend and travail. See the full list of dig synonyms and antonyms.

What is the plural of dig?

The plural of dig is digs.

What is the past tense of dig?

The past tense of dig is dug. The present participle is digging.