dig up
To take something out of the ground, or to find information that was hidden or hard to find.
Meanings
To remove something from the ground by digging.
"The archaeologists dug up several Roman coins near the old city walls."
To discover and reveal hidden or obscure information, especially something someone wanted kept secret.
"The journalist dug up evidence that the minister had accepted illegal payments."
To break up or remove the surface of a road, path, or ground for repairs or construction.
"They've dug up the main road again — the traffic is terrible."
Extremely common in both literal and figurative senses. The figurative sense ('dig up dirt', 'dig up evidence') is very frequent in journalism and everyday speech. Separable — the object can go between 'dig' and 'up' (e.g., 'dig it up').
Commonly used with
Forms
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