dig up meaning and examples thumbnail

dig up meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

  • Dig up means to remove something from under the ground by digging.
  • It can also mean to discover or find hidden, forgotten, or secret information.

Grammar and Usage

  • Phrasal verb

  • Transitive: needs an object.

  • Structures:

    • dig up + noun (physical object or information)
    • Passive: be dug up

Examples:

  • "They dug up the garden to plant flowers."
  • "Reporters dug up an old scandal."

Common Phrases

  • dig up dirt on someone
  • dig up old memories
  • dig up the past

Collocations

  • dig up evidence
  • dig up information
  • dig up the road
  • dig up secrets

Examples

  1. Workers are digging up the street to fix the water pipes.
  2. She dug up some old photographs in the attic.
  3. The police dug up new evidence in the case.
  4. Journalists dug up information about the politician’s past.
  5. They dug up the backyard to build a swimming pool.
  6. He dug up an old guitar he hadn’t played in years.
  7. The archaeologists dug up ancient pottery.
  8. Please don’t dig up the past—it only makes things worse.
  • uncover
  • unearth
  • discover
  • reveal
  • expose

Antonym

  • bury
  • cover up
  • conceal