dig
To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovelTo 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.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» The dog was digging a hole.
Der Hund grub ein Loch. — samueldora
Собака рыла ямку. — paul_lingvo
Собака рыла яму. — marafon
Собака рив яму. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
9 senses(intransitive, transitive)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.
In the wintertime, heavy truck tires dig into the road, forming potholes.
graben
копа́тьkopátʹ, выка́пыватьvykápyvatʹ, вы́копатьvýkopatʹ
копа́тиkopáty, ри́тиrýty
(transitive)To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.
to dig potatoes
to dig up gold
выка́пыватьvykápyvatʹ, вы́копатьvýkopatʹ
вико́пуватиvykópuvaty, ви́копатиvýkopaty, вирива́тиvyryváty
get the meaning of something
To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
(US, dated, slang)To work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously.
(figuratively)To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up.
to dig up evidence
to dig out the facts
To thrust; to poke.
He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.
poke or thrust abruptly
To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball
(dated, slang)To understand.
You dig?
(dated, slang, transitive)To appreciate, or like.
Baby, I dig you.
Examples
484 sentencesThe dog was digging a hole.
Собака рив яму. — deniko
ruСобака рыла ямку. — paul_lingvo
deDer Hund grub ein Loch. — samueldora
Tom is digging his own grave.
Том сам собі риє могилу. — deniko
ruТом сам себе роет могилу. — marafon
deTom schaufelt sich sein eigenes Grab. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom dug a grave for his dog.
Том вирив могилу для свого собаки. — deniko
ruТом выкопал могилу для своего пса. — odexed
They dug through the mountain and built a tunnel.
Вони пробилися крізь гору і побудували тунель. — MaxUA
ruОни пробились сквозь гору и построили туннель. — Balamax
They dug a grave.
Вони вирили могилу. — aandrusiak
ruОни выкопали могилу. — marafon
deEs wurde ein Grab ausgehoben. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English diggen (“to dig”, 13th c.), an alteration of dīken, from Old English dFrom 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”).
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).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
digs, digging, dug, dugPhrasal verbs
9 phrasal verbs- dig upкопати, ритиTo excavate something.
- dig outвідривати, відкопатиTo remove something by digging.
- dig onTo be attracted to (someone).
- dig inTo begin eating.
- dig downTo scrounge for money, especially large amounts of it.
- dig overTo dig thoroughly through an area so as to loosen the soil and make it suitable for planting.
- dig intoTo research a particular subject.
- dig aroundTo thoroughly search every part of an area or a container in hopes of finding something.
Synonyms
25 synonyms- turn up, loosen, or remove earth:delvecut intoturn over
- create by digging:dig out
- remove, harvest, or recover by digging:dig updig out
- remove the inner part or the core of:excavatehollow
- get the meaning of something:grokget the picturecomprehendsavvygraspcompassapprehend
- poke or thrust abruptly:jabprodstabpoke
Word family
22 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
Collocations
3 patterns- digging a well
- is digging a
- started digging
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.