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Synonyms

dug

1 American  
[duhg] / dʌg /

verb

  1. a simple past tense and past participle of dig and dig.

dug 2 American  
[duhg] / dʌg /

noun

  1. the mamma or the nipple of a female mammal.

dug 1 British  
/ dʌɡ /

noun

  1. the nipple, teat, udder, or breast of a female mammal

  2. a human breast, esp when old and withered

"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
dug 2 British  
/ dʌɡ /

verb

  1. the past tense and past participle of dig

"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
dug 3 British  
/ dʌɡ /

noun

  1. a Scot word for dog

"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 dug

1520–30; origin obscure; perhaps < a Germanic base akin to Danish dægge, Norwegian degge, Swedish dägga to suckle

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.

“I thought I asked all the right questions and dug deep enough,” she said of getting a TAVR.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Critics dug out and posted his dissertation, which was pilloried by other academics for a simplistic chart that placed terrorism on a spectrum somewhere between “peacekeeping” and “thermonuclear war.”

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

On April 19, as search-and-rescue teams dug through the rubble for survivors, Emerson became a sought-after TV pundit.

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2026

Wogan Cavern, thought to have been dug out by the Victorians, is accessed via a spiral staircase from the castle.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

As their footsteps retreated, I sagged backward against the cool stone in relief, only to stand back up abruptly as something dug into my back.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.