dig Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Dig transitive verb
Etymology
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. .
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dug or Digged ; present participle & verbal noun Digging -- Digged is archaic
Definitions
  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).
Dig intransitive verb
Definitions
  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.
Dig noun
Definitions
  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 1913