DIGGER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does digger mean? 

• DIGGER (noun)
  The noun DIGGER has 2 senses:

1. a laborer who digs

2. a machine for excavating

  Familiarity information: DIGGER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DIGGER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A laborer who digs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("digger" is a kind of...):

jack; laborer; labourer; manual laborer (someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "digger"):

ditch digger; mud digger (a laborer who digs ditches)

trencher (someone who digs trenches)

Derivation:

dig (create by digging)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A machine for excavating

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

digger; excavator; power shovel; shovel

Hypernyms ("digger" is a kind of...):

machine (any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "digger"):

backhoe (an excavator whose shovel bucket is attached to a hinged boom and is drawn backward to move earth)

dredge (a power shovel to remove material from a channel or riverbed)

steam shovel (a power shovel that is driven by steam)

Derivation:

dig (turn up, loosen, or remove earth)

dig (create by digging)

 Context examples 

What was the past of this Trevor, pugilist, traveler, and gold-digger, and how had he placed himself in the power of this acid-faced seaman?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A minute later the bailiff and four of his men rode past him on their journey back to Southampton, the other two having been chosen as grave-diggers.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For over a year he had been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior as a clam digger and a salmon fisher or in any other capacity that brought him food and bed.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)