dig (redirected from digs a hole for)

dig  (dg)

v. dug (dg), dig·ging, digs

v.tr.

1. To break up, turn over, or remove (earth or sand, for example), as with a shovel, spade, or snout, or with claws, paws or hands.

2.

a. To make or form by removing earth or other material: dig a trench; dug my way out of the snow.

b. To prepare (soil) by loosening or cultivating.

3.

a. To obtain or unearth by digging: dig coal out of a seam; dug potatoes from a field.

b. To obtain or find by an action similar to digging: dug a dollar out of his pocket; dug the puck out of the corner.

4. To learn or discover by careful research or investigation: dug up the evidence; dug out the real facts.

5. To force down and into something; thrust: dug his foot in the ground.

6. To poke or prod: dug me in the ribs.

7. Sports To strike or redirect (a ball) just before it hits the ground, as in tennis or volleyball.

8. Slang

a. To understand fully: Do you dig what I mean?

b. To like, enjoy, or appreciate: "They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them" Louis Armstrong.

c. To take notice of: Dig that wild outfit.

v.intr.

1. To loosen, turn over, or remove earth or other material.

2. To make one's way by or as if by pushing aside or removing material: dug through the files.

3. Slang To have understanding: Do you dig?

n.

1. A poke or thrust: a sharp dig in the ribs.

2. A sarcastic, taunting remark; a gibe.

3. An archaeological excavation.

4. Sports An act or an instance of digging a ball.

5. digs Lodgings.

Phrasal Verb:

dig in

1. To dig trenches for protection.

2. To hold on stubbornly, as to a position; entrench oneself.

3.

a. To begin to work intensively.

b. To begin to eat heartily.

Idioms:

dig in (one's) heels

To resist opposition stubbornly; refuse to yield or compromise.

dig it out

Slang To run as fast as one can, especially as a base runner in baseball.

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[Middle English diggen; perhaps akin to Old French digue, dike, trench; see dhg^w- in Indo-European roots. V., tr., sense 8 and intr., sense 3, perhaps influenced by Wolof degg, to hear, find out, understand, or Irish Gaelic tuigim, I understand.]

Our Living Language In its slang sense of "to enjoy," dig is one of the many words and expressions that come from African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Like cool, it is first recorded in 1930s jazz circles. While several AAVE expressions that have entered standard English from jazz still have musical associations, many others do not, and quite a few are so ordinary today that their origin in AAVE is not at all obvious. Some are no longer regarded as slang, such as badmouth, cakewalk, nitty-gritty, and main man. Others, like fox, "sexy woman," gig, and chump change are still slang or informal.

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dig

Verb

[digging, dug]

1. to cut into, break up, and turn over or remove (earth), esp. with a spade

2. to excavate (a hole or tunnel) by digging, usually with an implement or (of animals) with claws

3. to obtain by digging: dig out potatoes

4. to find by effort or searching: he dug out a mini cassette from his pocket

5. Informal to like or understand

6. (foll. by in, into)to thrust or jab

Noun

1. the act of digging

2. an archaeological excavation

3. a thrust or poke

4. a cutting remark

See also dig in [Middle English diggen]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	dig - the site of an archeological exploration; "they set up camp next to the dig" archeological site, excavation archaeology, archeology - the branch of anthropology that studies prehistoric people and their cultures land site, site - the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located); "a good site for the school"
	2.	dig - 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" barb, gibe, jibe, shaft, slam, shot comment, remark, input - a statement that expresses a personal opinion or belief or adds information; "from time to time she contributed a personal comment on his account" cheap shot - an unnecessarily aggressive and unfair remark directed at a defenseless person
	3.	dig - a small gouge (as in the cover of a book); "the book was in good condition except for a dig in the back cover" gouge, nick, ding, dent - an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
	4.	dig - the act of digging; "there's an interesting excavation going on near Princeton" digging, excavation creating by removal - the act of creating by removing something
	5.	dig - the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow; "she gave me a sharp dig in the ribs" jab touching, touch - the act of putting two things together with no space between them; "at his touch the room filled with lights"
Verb	1.	dig - turn up, loosen, or remove earth; "Dig we must"; "turn over the soil for aeration" cut into, delve, turn over remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment" furrow, groove, rut - hollow out in the form of a furrow or groove; "furrow soil" rootle, rout, root - dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" spade - dig (up) with a spade; "I spade compost into the flower beds" shovel - dig with or as if with a shovel; "shovel sand"; "he shovelled in the backyard all afternoon long" trowel - use a trowel on; for light garden work or plaster work burrow, tunnel - move through by or as by digging; "burrow through the forest" pitch in, dig in - eat heartily; "The food was placed on the table and the children pitched in" dig out - dig out from underneath earth or snow dig up, excavate, turn up - find by digging in the ground; "I dug up an old box in the garden"
	2.	dig - create by digging; "dig a hole"; "dig out a channel" dig out core out, hollow out, hollow - remove the interior of; "hollow out a tree trunk" lift - take (root crops) out of the ground; "lift potatoes" trench - dig a trench or trenches; "The National Guardsmen were sent out to trench" dibble - make a hole with a wooden hand tool; "dibble the ground"
	3.	dig - work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" labour, moil, toil, travail, drudge, fag, labor, grind do work, work - be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college"
	4.	dig - remove, harvest, or recover by digging; "dig salt"; "dig coal" dig out, dig up excavate, unearth - recover through digging; "Schliemann excavated Troy"; "excavate gold"
	5.	dig - thrust down or into; "dig the oars into the water"; "dig your foot into the floor" thrust - push forcefully; "He thrust his chin forward"
	6.	dig - remove the inner part or the core of; "the mining company wants to excavate the hillside" hollow, excavate remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment" drive - excavate horizontally; "drive a tunnel" trench, ditch - cut a trench in, as for drainage; "ditch the land to drain it"; "trench the fields"
	7.	dig - poke or thrust abruptly; "he jabbed his finger into her ribs" jab, poke, prod, stab thrust - push forcefully; "He thrust his chin forward"
	8.	dig - get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?" apprehend, comprehend, get the picture, grok, savvy, grasp, compass understand - know and comprehend the nature or meaning of; "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means" figure - understand; "He didn't figure her" catch on, cotton on, get it, get onto, get wise, twig, latch on, tumble - understand, usually after some initial difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on" intuit - know or grasp by intuition or feeling digest - arrange and integrate in the mind; "I cannot digest all this information"

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dig

verb 1. hollow out, mine, pierce, quarry, excavate, gouge, scoop out

verb 2. delve, tunnel, burrow, grub

verb 3. turn over, till, break up, hoe

verb 4. search, hunt, root, delve, forage, dig down, fossick Austral., N.Z.

verb 5. poke, drive, push, stick, punch, stab, thrust, shove, prod, jab

verb 6. (Informal) like, enjoy, go for, appreciate, groove (dated), (slang) delight in, be fond of, be keen on, be partial to

7. (Informal) understand, follow

noun 8. cutting remark, crack (slang) insult, taunt, sneer, jeer, quip, barb, wisecrack (informal) gibe

noun 9. poke, thrust, butt, nudge, prod, jab, punch

dig in (Informal) begin or start eating, tuck in (informal)

Translations

dig [dɪg] vt [pt dug, pp ] [dʌg] [+ hole] → cavar [+ ground]; remover [+ coal]; extraer [+ nails etc]; clavar

n (= prod) → empujón m;

(archaeological) → excavación f (= remark); indirecta;

to dig into [+ savings] → consumir;

to dig into one's pockets for sth → hurgar en el bolsillo buscando algo;

to dig one's nails into → clavar las uñas en see also digs

dig in vi (also: dig o.s. in) (MIL) → atrincherarse;

(col) (= eat); hincar los dientes

vt [+ compost] → añadir al suelo [+ knife, claw]; clavar;

to dig in one's heels (fig) → mantenerse en sus trece

dig out vt [+ hole] → excavar [+ survivors, car from snow]; sacar

dig up vt → desenterrar [+ plant]; desarraigar

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dig [dɪg] vt [dug , pt , pp ] [dʌg] [+ hole] → creuser [+ garden]; bêcher

n (= prod) → coup m de coude (fig) (= remark); coup de griffe or de patte;

(Archaeology) → fouille f;

to dig into [+ snow, soil] → creuser;

to dig into one's pockets for sth → fouiller dans ses poches pour chercher or prendre qch;

to dig one's nails into → enfoncer ses ongles dans

dig in vi (also: dig o.s. in) (Mil) → se retrancher: (fig); tenir bon, se braquer;

(inf) (= eat); attaquer (un repas or un plat etc)

vt [+ compost] → bien mélanger à la bêche [+ knife, claw]; enfoncer;

to dig in one's heels (fig) → se braquer, se buter

dig out vt [+ survivors, car from snow] → sortir or dégager (à coups de pelles or pioches)

dig up vt → déterrer

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dig [dɪg] [dug , pt, pp ] vt → graben;

(garden) → umgraben

n (prod) → Stoß m;

(archaeological) → (Aus)grabung f;

(remark) → Seitenhieb m, spitze Bemerkung f;

to dig one's nails into sth → seine Nägel in etw acc krallen

dig in dig vi (fig) (inf) (eat) → reinhauen

vt (compost) → untergraben, eingraben;

(knife) → hineinstoßen;

(claw) → festkrallen;

to dig one's heels in dig (fig); sich auf die Hinterbeine stellen (inf)

dig into dig vt fus (savings) → angreifen;

(snow, soil) → ein Loch graben in +acc;

to dig into one's pockets for sth dig → in seinen Taschen nach etw suchen or wühlen

dig out dig vt → ausgraben

dig up dig vt → ausgraben

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dig [dɪg] vb [pt dug, pp ] [dʌg]

vt [+ hole] → scavare [+ garden]; vangare

vi → scavare

n (= prod) → gomitata;

(fig) → frecciata;

(ARCHAEOLOGY) → scavo, scavi mpl;

to dig into [+ snow, soil] → scavare;

to dig into one's pockets for sth → frugarsi le tasche cercando qc;

to dig one's nails into → conficcare le unghie in see also digs

dig in vi (col) (= eat); attaccare a mangiare;

(also: dig o.s. in) (MIL) → trincerarsi: (fig) → insediarsi, installarsi

vt [+ compost] → interrare [+ knife, claw]; affondare;

to dig in one's heels (fig) → impuntarsi

dig out vt [+ survivors, car from snow] → tirar fuori (scavando), estrarre (scavando)

dig up vt → scavare [+ tree etc]; sradicare