Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⛏️ To make a hole 🧠 To understand 🏺 An excavation 👈 To poke hard 😏 A sarcastic remark 💪 To work hard ☝️ A quick poke
to dig

to dig

50 2.4
To push something quickly into a person or thing
  • verb
  • /dɪg/
translation icon : clavar
  • I'm just going to go ahead and dig my finger in and kind of melt it down a little bit and smooth out my pores.

Oh ma'am is digging in that nostril right now.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Shefek picked up the chicken by one leg and dug his teeth into the thigh.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But I'll need a deposit," Barry dug into his pocket again and came up with a dollar.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • When you lean over to dig, that thing hit you in the back of the head.

    Academic text (2014)

  • OK, I just dug my fingers into all of them.

  • His fingers dug into my skin and I winced, but kept my mouth shut.

  • I hold Sue's hand under the table, and her nails dig into my palm.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The wheel rim digs into the loose earth, and the car is stuck.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The thorns would dig into my legs and cut my thighs as I lowered myself down.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • He used a shovel to dig a hole in the backyard for the new tree.

  • The archaeologists decided to dig deeper to uncover hidden artifacts.

Synonyms

to stab
vsto dig
  • NSFW
459 2.7

To push a sharp pointed object into a person or animal

is an abrupt insertion that does not require a sharp pointed tool
to poke
vsto dig
251 1.5

Push quickly with a finger, stick, or other small object

is broader and can mean a sudden forceful insertion rather than a small push
to thrust
vsto dig
66 3.9

To push something or someone suddenly and forcefully forward

is a quick abrupt insertion that can be lighter than a strong forward push
to jab
vsto dig
19 3.3

To poke quickly and sharply with a finger, hand, or object

is focused on inserting abruptly rather than making a quick striking blow
to prod
vsto dig
4 3.7

To poke a person, animal, or object with a stick

is a sudden abrupt insertion rather than a gentle simple push

Idioms

to dig one's own grave
  • Informal
3 7.1

To do something that makes you fail

to dig in one's heels
  • Informal
1 6.7

Refuse to change an opinion or plan when pressed

to dig a hole for oneself
  • Informal
7.9

To cause problems for yourself because of your actions

Phrasal Verbs

to dig up
139 2.0

To take something out of the ground by digging

to dig into
  • Informal
70 3.7

To look at something carefully, often by searching under the surface

to dig deep
43 4.4

Search carefully to find hidden facts or details

to dig in
29 6.9

To prepare a position in a trench to protect soldiers from attack

to dig in
  • Informal
21 1.9

To start eating eagerly, often at a shared meal

to dig out
21 3.4

Find and take out something that is hidden or forgotten

to dig out
14 3.2

Remove something that is under the ground or snow using a shovel

to dig up dirt
  • Informal
9 6.5

Look for and tell secret or bad things about someone to harm them

to dig a trench
2 3.5

To make a long narrow hole in the ground for pipes or to carry water away

to dig out of a hole
6.9

To get out of a difficult situation after mistakes or bad luck

Compounds

infra dig
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A thing people see as below a person's status and not socially acceptable

How Forceful

to stab
  • NSFW
459 2.7
jab
16 3.0
to dig
50 2.4
poke
4 2.5
to tap
174 1.0

Surface Forms

dig infinitive
digging present participle
digs third person singular
dug past
dug past participle

Etymology

The word dig meaning 'to poke' or thrust into something comes from the same idea of making a small hole or mark by pushing in. So to dig someone with your elbow is to push into them quickly to get attention.