dug

Definition of dugnext
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

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.
Recent Examples of dug In areas outside its hardiness zone, Milky Way™ Dietes can be grown in containers that are overwintered indoors or grown as a tender perennial and dug from garden beds for winter storage. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2026 By the time the white light that floods Bogotá on cloudy days grows bright enough to be blinding, the june bug has dug herself a refuge in the dirt. María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026 Volunteers will place trees and shrubs in holes that have already been dug, backfill and tamp down soil, then add water and mulch, according to a press release from the Kane County Forest Preserve District. Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026 Boggs and the women on her side dug their heels in deeper. Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026 Bulldozers dug pits in a Kabul cemetery before Wednesday's mass funeral, which Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said was for more than 50 people whose remains couldn't be identified. Arkansas Online, 19 Mar. 2026 Mass funeral in Kabul Bulldozers dug pits in a Kabul cemetery before Wednesday’s mass funeral, which Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said was for more than 50 people whose remains couldn’t be identified. Abdul Qahar Afghan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026 Dick dug the hole in the hill, cemented it all in and then borrowed 2 acres of land from a friend who had 13 acres—back in those days, such transactions were simpler—and planted a vineyard. Laura Ness, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026 But Miami had dug itself into too deep of a hole to climb all the way out. Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dug
Verb
  • As an anthropology major, her first job was working on Howard’s African Burial Ground project as an osteological technical assistant doing skeletal analysis of the 490 full human remains that were excavated in lower Manhattan.
    Essence, Essence, 22 Mar. 2026
  • Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
    Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Despite being bothered by his elbow throughout the 2025 campaign, Rodón enjoyed his best season with the Yankees last year.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Bencoglu also enjoyed the warmth of the home supporters on Tuesday.
    Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Jacir said many of those screenings opened eyes to a history many people never knew.
    Zach Dennis, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Badinter knew that debate-club arguments about deterrence and human-rights law and the possibility of judicial error would be ineffective.
    Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The Thorns forward poked the ball through and Ball kicked her leg into Wilson’s path, taking her down inside the box.
    Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Since then, the president has repeatedly poked at the vulnerability.
    Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Hana liked it enough to take some home, which in the Test Kitchen is a ringing endorsement!
    Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The Moore move was made to bring in a player the Eagles liked coming out of college, but who has not yet capitalized on his traits in the NFL.
    Zach Berman, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Stout, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology and has worked in the mental health field her entire career, understood what her uncle needed, and Hochheiser himself wasn’t shy.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
  • In the ’90s and 2000s, under Senegalese presidents Abdou Diouf and Abdoulaye Wade, who extended Leopold Senghor’s vision of art as statecraft, Dak’Art benefited from government backing not just as a matter of policy but because these presidents understood that culture mattered.
    Smooth Nzewi, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Another did not investigate a claim that a resident was stabbed by a fork-wielding manager, records show.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The 39-year-old homeless man who allegedly stabbed a woman in downtown Los Angeles was wanted for allegedly killing someone last year, according to a law enforcement bulletin a source provided to CBS LA.
    Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • A little girl who loved green aliens, drinking pickle juice and picking buttercups in the field with her mom.
    Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
  • No artist ever mocked the insanity of the Hollywood cartoon stystem with such devastating incisiveness, and yet loved its creative output so much.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 28 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dug. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.

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