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

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 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

diggings

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