To break up, turn over, or remove (earth or sand, for example), as with a shovel, spade, or snout, or with claws, paws or hands.
To make or form by removing earth or other material: dig a trench; dug my way out of the snow.
To prepare (soil) by loosening or cultivating.
To obtain or unearth by digging: dig coal out of a seam; dug potatoes from a field.
To obtain or find by an action similar to digging: dug a dollar out of his pocket; dug the puck out of the corner.
To understand fully: Do you dig what I mean?
To like, enjoy, or appreciate: "They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them"(Louis Armstrong).
To take notice of: Dig that wild outfit.
To obtain or unearth by digging: dig coal out of a seam; dug potatoes from a field.
To obtain or find by an action similar to digging: dug a dollar out of his pocket; dug the puck out of the corner.
To understand fully: Do you dig what I mean?
To like, enjoy, or appreciate: "They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them"(Louis Armstrong).
To take notice of: Dig that wild outfit.
To learn or discover by careful research or investigation: dug up the evidence; dug out the real facts.
To force down and into something; thrust: dug his foot in the ground.
To poke or prod: dug me in the ribs.
Sports To strike or redirect (a ball) just before it hits the ground, as in tennis or volleyball.
Slang
To understand fully: Do you dig what I mean?
To like, enjoy, or appreciate: "They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them"(Louis Armstrong).
To take notice of: Dig that wild outfit.
v.
intr.
To loosen, turn over, or remove earth or other material.
To make one's way by or as if by pushing aside or removing material: dug through the files.
Slang To have understanding: Do you dig?
n.
A poke or thrust: a sharp dig in the ribs.
A sarcastic, taunting remark; a gibe.
An archaeological excavation.
Sports An act or an instance of digging a ball.
digs Lodgings.
Phrasal Verb(s): dig in
To dig trenches for protection.
To hold on stubbornly, as to a position; entrench oneself.
To begin to work intensively.
To begin to eat heartily.
Idiom(s):
dig in (one's) heelsTo resist opposition stubbornly; refuse to yield or compromise.
Idiom(s):
dig it outSlang To run as fast as one can, especially as a base runner in baseball.
[Middle English diggen; perhaps akin to Old French digue, dike, trench; see dhīgw- in Indo-European roots. V., tr., sense 8 and intr., sense 3, perhaps influenced by Wolof degg, to hear, find out, understand, or Irish Gaelic tuigim, I understand.]
Our Living Language: In its slang sense of "to enjoy," dig is one of the many words and expressions that come from African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Like cool, it is first recorded in 1930s jazz circles. While several AAVE expressions that have entered standard English from jazz still have musical associations, many others do not, and quite a few are so ordinary today that their origin in AAVE is not at all obvious. Some are no longer regarded as slang, such as badmouth, cakewalk, nitty-gritty, and main man. Others, like fox, "sexy woman," gig, and chump change are still slang or informal.
tv. & in. to understand something. : I just don't dig what you are saying.
tv. to appreciate something; to like something. : He really digs classical music.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
dig
c.1320 (diggen), of uncertain origin, probably related to dike and ditch, either via O.Fr. diguer (ult. from a Gmc. source), or directly from an unrecorded O.E. word. Native words were deolfan, grafan (medial -f- pronounced as "v" in O.E.). Meaning "thrust or poke" (as with an elbow) is from 1819; figurative sense of this is from 1840. Slang sense of "understand" first recorded 1934 in Black English, probably based on the notion of "excavate." A slightly varied sense of "appreciate" emerged 1939. Noun meaning "archaeological expedition" is from 1896. Digs "lodgings" is slang from 1893.
Excavate trenches to defend oneself in battle and hold one's position, as in The battalion dug in and held on. This usage gained currency in the trench warfare of World War I. [Mid-1800s]
Also, dig in one's heels. Adopt a firm position, be obstinate and unyielding. For example, Arthur refused to argue the point and simply dug in, or The dog dug in its heels and refused to move. [Colloquial; late 1800s]
Begin to work intensively, as in If we all dig in it'll be done before dark. [Colloquial; second half of 1800s]
Also, dig into. Begin to eat heartily, as in Even before all the food was on the table they began to dig in, or When the bell rang, the kids all dug into their lunches. [Colloquial; early 1900s]
[dig] 
verb, dug or (Archaic
) digged, dig⋅ging, noun