DIG UP • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Dig up

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/dɪg əp/ Listen

verb

Dig v. t. (past & past part. dug, digged is archaic; pres. part. digging)

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."

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."

5.

To like; enjoy; admire. "The whole class digs Pearl Jam." (Colloq.)

To dig down, to undermine and cause to fall by digging; as, to dig down a wall.

To dig from, To dig out of, To dig out, To dig 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,

(a)

to cover by digging; as, to dig in manure.

(b)

To entrench oneself so as to give stronger resistance; used of warfare or negotiating situations.

to dig in one's heels To offer stubborn resistance.

See images of 'Dig up'

Etymology of 'Dig up'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dig up" Quotes from Famous Books

... found their little knowledge a deeply dangerous thing! Too quickly they perceived the imperfections of their government, the corruption rife among the officials of every class. And bitter was their reproach. The question to them seemed simple. To correct this, at once and forever, dig up the very soil in which the corruptive roots expanded—here was the way, the only way. And immediately there followed pamphlets and articles. Secret meetings, propagandist organizations, flooded the land. And the red ...

— The Genius • Margaret Horton Potter

... immediately began to dig up the earth, while Timofei stood by with his chin propped on his hand, repeating: "That's the only thing left for thee and ...

— A Reckless Character - And Other Stories • Ivan Turgenev

... can I leave it!" Ellinor cried. "They may do a hundred things—may dig up the shrubbery. Oh! Dixon, I feel as if it was sure to be found out! Oh! Dixon, I cannot bear any more blame on papa—it will kill me—and such a ...

— A Dark Night's Work • Elizabeth Gaskell

... Spirit became very angry with this tribe. Always he had taught the Indians never to kill an animal, unless for food and protection; never to fell a tree, unless for fuel or shelter; never to dig up shrubs or plants, unless ...

— Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children • Mabel Powers

... concerns that have stood by. There's the wad of land that New Jersey crowd has been dickering for. They'll take all of a couple of thousand acres and will close now if you give them half a chance. That Fairmount section is the cream of it, and they'll dig up as high as a thousand dollars an acre for a part of it. That'll help out some. That five-hundred acre tract beyond, you'll be lucky if they pay two hundred ...

— Burning Daylight • Jack London

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