diggings

American

[dig-ingz, dig-uhnz] / ˈdɪg ɪŋz, ˈdɪg ənz /

noun

(usually used with a singular verb) a place where digging dig is carried on.
(used with a plural verb) a mining operation or locality.
(used with a plural verb) something that is removed from an excavation.
(used with a plural verb) dig.

diggings British

/ ˈdɪɡɪŋz /

plural noun

(functioning as plural) material that has been dug out
(functioning as singular or plural) a place where mining, esp gold mining, has taken place
informal (functioning as plural) a less common name for digs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of diggings

First recorded in 1530–40; dig ¹ + -ing ¹ + -s ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

High above their diggings in the mining district of Kantishna, three Alaskan prospectors stopped to catch their breath in the thin, subzero air of America’s highest peak.

From The Guardian • Nov. 8, 2018

My share of the diggings paid for my lifestyle for the next three years.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2018

Here were the signature diggings of a giant armadillo, one dedicated earthmover.

From Scientific American • Feb. 22, 2013

Founded in Kimberley, where diamond diggings established South Africa’s mining industry, De Beers was named after a nearby farm.

From BusinessWeek • Nov. 4, 2011

The poorest went on living in burrows of the most primitive kind, mere holes indeed, with only one window or none; while the well-to-do still constructed more luxurious versions of the simple diggings of old.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023