# digging

/ˈdɪɡɪŋ/ (US) · /dˈɪɡɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/digging
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. the act of excavating

noun · CEFR B1

the physical work of moving earth or making a hole in the ground.

For teachers: the action or process of excavating or turning up soil.

- After a full day of digging in the garden, his back was very sore.
- The constant digging required to install the new drainage system left the backyard in a state of total disarray for several weeks.

### 2. an archaeological site

noun · CEFR B2

a place where people are digging to find old objects or gold.

For teachers: a site where excavation is occurring, specifically for archaeological research or mining purposes.

- The students spent their summer at a digging in Egypt looking for pottery.
- Archaeologists at the Roman digging uncovered several well-preserved coins that helped date the surrounding structures more accurately.

### 3. living quarters

noun · CEFR C1 · British English · Informal · Archaic

the place where you live, usually a rented room or apartment.

For teachers: living quarters or lodgings; usually used in the plural form 'digs'.

- He found some cheap digging near the university for his final year.
- After weeks of searching the city, he finally secured comfortable digging in a quiet suburb just a short commute from the office.

Usage: Almost always appears as the plural 'digs' in modern speech.

## Examples

- The dog did some digging in the garden.
- After some digging into the company's history, the journalist found evidence of a secret bank account.
- While the physical digging at the archaeological site was slow, the subsequent archival digging revealed that the ruins were much older than previously estimated.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.