dig sth up
— phrasal verb with dig uk/dɪɡ/us/dɪɡ/verb present participle digging, past tense and past participle dug
(MOVE SOIL)
to take something out of the ground by digging:
It's time we dug up those potatoes.
to break the ground or to make a hole in it with a tool, machine, etc.:
They're digging up the road outside to fix a faulty water main.
(INFORMATION)
to discover secret or forgotten facts by searching very carefully:
I've been doing some research on our family history and I've dug up some interesting information.
She's one of those reporters who's always trying to dig up dirt on (= unpleasant private details about) celebrities.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Finding and discovering
- a fishing expedition idiom
- alight
- ascertain
- break fresh/new ground idiom
- breakthrough
- catch sb red-handed idiom
- flush
- get wind of sth idiom
- happen
- happen on/upon sth/sb
- have a (good) nose for sth idiom
- have got something there idiom
- root sth/sb out
- run sb/sth to ground idiom
- scent
- search
- search sth/sb out
- smell
- sniff sth out
- stumble
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