dig up

phraseB12 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To dig up is to bring something to the surface — or to uncover an old secret. Both involve going down for it.

The literal sense covers roads, gardens and archaeology, so digging up a pipe means excavating to reach it. The figurative sense belongs to journalism and to arguments, since digging up somebody's past is a deliberate act, and digging up old grievances is what nobody wants at a family gathering. It splits round an object. Unearth is the formal single word.

Definitions of dig up

1phrasedig upTo remove something from the ground by digging.B1
“They will dig up the whole verge to lay the cable.”
2phrasediscoverTo discover information that was hidden or forgotten.B2
“Somebody will dig up that story eventually.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

← Vocabulary

dig up

phraseB12 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To dig up is to bring something to the surface — or to uncover an old secret. Both involve going down for it.

Definitions of dig up

1phrasedig upTo remove something from the ground by digging.B1
“They will dig up the whole verge to lay the cable.”
2phrasediscoverTo discover information that was hidden or forgotten.B2
“Somebody will dig up that story eventually.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word