dig

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

• transitive v. 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.
• transitive v. To make or form by removing earth or other material: dig a trench; dug my way out of the snow.
• transitive v. To prepare (soil) by loosening or cultivating.
• transitive v. To obtain or unearth by digging: dig coal out of a seam; dug potatoes from a field.
• transitive v. To obtain or find by an action similar to digging: dug a dollar out of his pocket; dug the puck out of the corner.
• transitive v. To learn or discover by careful research or investigation: dug up the evidence; dug out the real facts.
• transitive v. To force down and into something; thrust: dug his foot in the ground.
• transitive v. To poke or prod: dug me in the ribs.
• transitive v. Sports To strike or redirect (a ball) just before it hits the ground, as in tennis or volleyball.
• transitive v. Slang To understand fully: Do you dig what I mean?
• transitive v. Slang To like, enjoy, or appreciate: "They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them” ( Louis Armstrong).
• transitive v. Slang To take notice of: Dig that wild outfit.
• intransitive v. To loosen, turn over, or remove earth or other material.
• intransitive v. To make one's way by or as if by pushing aside or removing material: dug through the files.
• intransitive v. Slang To have understanding: Do you dig?
• n. A poke or thrust: a sharp dig in the ribs.
• n. A sarcastic, taunting remark; a gibe.
• n. An archaeological excavation.
• n. Sports An act or an instance of digging a ball.
• n. Lodgings.
• dig in To dig trenches for protection.
• dig in To hold on stubbornly, as to a position; entrench oneself.
• dig in To begin to work intensively.
• dig in To begin to eat heartily.
• idiom dig in (one's) heels To resist opposition stubbornly; refuse to yield or compromise.
• idiom dig it out Slang To run as fast as one can, especially as a base runner in baseball.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• v. 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.
• n. An archeological investigation.
• n. A plodding and laborious student.
• n. See digs.
• v. To understand or show interest in.
• v. To appreciate, or like.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• transitive v. 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.
• transitive v. To get by digging.
• transitive v. To hollow out, as a well; to form, as a ditch, by removing earth; to excavate.
• transitive v. To thrust; to poke.
• transitive v. To like; enjoy; admire.
• intransitive v. To work with a spade or other like implement; to do servile work; to delve.
• intransitive v. To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
• intransitive v. To work hard or drudge
• intransitive v. Of a tool: To cut deeply into the work because ill set, held at a wrong angle, or the like, as when a lathe tool is set too low and so sprung into the work.
• transitive v. To understand.
• transitive v. To notice; to look at.
• transitive v. To appreciate and enjoy.
• n. A thrust; a punch; a poke. See dig, v. t., 4.
• n. A plodding and laborious student.
• n. A tool for digging.
• n. An act of digging.
• n. An amount to be dug.
• n. same as Gouge.
• n. a critical and sometimes sarcastic or insulting remark, but often good-humored.
• n. An archeological excavation site.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• To make a ditch or other excavation; turn up or throw out earth or other material, as in making a ditch or channel or in tilling: as, to dig in the field; to dig to the bottom of something.
• To study hard; give much time to study; grind.
• To excavate; make a passage through or into, or remove, by loosening and taking away material: usually followed by an adverb: as, to dig up the ground; to dig out a choked tunnel.
• To form by excavation; make by digging: as, to dig a tunnel, a well, a mine, etc.; to dig one's way out.
• To break up and turn over piecemeal, as a portion of ground: as, to dig a garden with a spade; a hog digs the ground with his snout.
• To excavate a passage or tunnel for; make a way of escape for by digging: as, he dug himself out of prison.
• To obtain or remove by excavation; figuratively, to find or discover by effort or search; get by close attention or investigation: often followed by up or out: as, to dig potatoes; to dig or dig out ore; to dig up old records; to dig out a lesson.
• To cause to penetrate; thrust or force in: followed by into: as, he dug his spurs into his horse's flanks; he dug his heel into the ground.
• n. A thrust; a punch; a poke: as, a dig in the ribs: often used figuratively of sarcasm and criticism.
• n. A diligent or plodding student.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• n. an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
• v. turn up, loosen, or remove earth
• v. create by digging
• n. the act of digging
• v. work hard
• n. the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow
• v. remove the inner part or the core of
• n. the site of an archeological exploration
• n. a small gouge (as in the cover of a book)
• v. remove, harvest, or recover by digging
• v. thrust down or into
• v. poke or thrust abruptly
• v. get the meaning of something