dug

past tense of dig
1
as in excavated
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth a backhoe dug a hole in the backyard to make a swimming pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3
4
as in poked
to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object every time I slowed down, he'd dig me in the ribs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dug
Verb
  • The site was first excavated beginning in 1995, and in 2018, scientists began collecting, analyzing and radiocarbon dating fossils unearthed from El Gigante rubbish piles.
    GrrlScientist, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Templeton promptly contacted the Mississippi State Geological Survey, whose experts carefully excavated the 600-pound (270 kilograms) artifact.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • But that was not the case at Leicester last season, when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall enjoyed a career-best campaign while wingers Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi registered 19 and 18 goal involvements respectively in the Championship.
    Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
  • Both players have enjoyed productive springs, though Goldschmidt has been dealing with a sore back.
    Gary Phillips, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The clip poked fun at photos from the couple's recent cover shoot for Interview magazine.
    Catherine Santino, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Chris Kreider poked a puck away from Yegor Chinakhov.
    Peter Baugh, The Athletic, 10 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • More Stores But it is understood that the disposal of De Beers, one way or another, will proceed, as will a plan to grow the retail arm of the business through the opening of more stores with the aim being to grow from 40 De Beers outlets today to 100 around the world.
    Tim Treadgold, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
  • Tantric Buddhism understood this, and reminders of mortality abound in its art, in images of skeletons and corpses, and in portraits of deities associated with death.
    Holland Cotter, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Two people were stabbed at a transit station in Queens, with one of them dying, and a woman was set on fire and died on a subway car in Brooklyn.
    Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Hernandez-Velasco, 32, was rushed to Stamford Hospital after he was stabbed at a party, cops said.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 23 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Eazy The Block Captain and Shields also hopped into the fray, with Eazy disputing Papoose’s claim that he was punched unconscious and challenging him to a fight.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Cops released photos of an unknown assailant on Saturday who punched and slashed a straphanger in the face after an argument inside a Brooklyn subway station last month.
    Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • In Han Kang’s latest novel, a character saws off the tips of two of her fingers in a woodworking accident.
    Victoria Kim, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Bentley and cinematographer Adolpho Veloso also plunge audiences into the tactile particulars and handcraft of logging, Robert sawing away with numb determination while he’s forced once again to be far away from his wife and child.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The original 1990 film grossed more than $470 million in the worldwide box office and spurred five sequels that followed the original movie.
    Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Yet even with uncertainty on the horizon, some buyers might feel spurred into action.
    Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Dug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dug. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

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