diggings

plural noun

dig·​gings ˈdi-giŋz How to pronounce diggings (audio)
1
: a place of excavating especially for ore, metals, or precious stones
2
: material dug out
3
b
chiefly British : lodgings for a student

Examples of diggings in a Sentence

he hasn't been seen around these diggings lately while at Oxford, his diggings were the envy of all the other undergraduates
Recent Examples on the Web Stricker’s mention of Long Beach was a reference to Washington’s richest razor diggings, which also have yielded unusually large clams. Bill Monroe, oregonlive, 1 Apr. 2022 As tear gas and bullets fly, students from the affluent suburbs of Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s two biggest cities, are being joined on the barricades by fresh-faced office and factory workers and young miners from the jade diggings of Kachin. Brian Wong, Time, 5 Mar. 2021 But her family letters from a century ago told of gatherings, as well as grave diggings. Jacey Fortin New York Times, Star Tribune, 9 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diggings.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of diggings was in 1538

Dictionary Entries Near diggings

Cite this Entry

“Diggings.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diggings. Accessed 10 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

diggings

plural noun
dig·​gings ˈdig-iŋz How to pronounce diggings (audio)
1
: a place where ore, metals, or gems are dug
2
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