1 B1 neutral
To free a person or thing that is trapped or buried under snow, rubble, or earth.
"Rescue workers spent hours digging out survivors from the collapsed building."
separable
dig out
B1 neutral separable transitive
To remove or rescue something or someone from a surrounding mass; or to find and retrieve something after searching.
In plain English
To get something out that is buried, stuck, or hidden under a pile of things.
What does "dig out" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
To find and retrieve something from a pile, storage, or forgotten place after some effort.
"I dug out my old university notes and they were actually quite useful."
separable
3 B2 neutral
To create a hole or space by removing earth or other material.
"They dug out the foundations for the new extension last week."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To use a digging motion to bring something outward from a mass.
Actually means
To get something out that is buried, stuck, or hidden under a pile of things.
Usage tip
Used both literally (digging people from rubble, snow) and informally (finding an old document or item from a pile). Very common in everyday English. When the object is a pronoun, it must go between 'dig' and 'out'.
Words that pair with "dig out"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
car files photo survivor snow rubble
How to conjugate "dig out"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
dig out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
digs out
he/she/it
Past simple
diged out
yesterday
Past participle
diged out
have + pp
-ing form
diging out
continuous
Hear "dig out" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "dig out" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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