Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "digger" []

  • A person or animal that digs: a digger of gardens; a digger for information. (noun)
  • A tool or machine used for digging or excavating. (noun)
  • Informal A soldier from Australia in World War I and World War II. (noun)
  • Informal A soldier from New Zealand in World War I. (noun)
  • Offensive Used as a disparaging term, especially in the 19th century, for a member of any of various Native American peoples of the Great Basin, such as the Utes, Paiutes, and Western Shoshones. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "digger" in a sentence
  • "At the risk of sounding all tin-foil-hatty it may be because the dirty digger is terrified of genuine competition."
  • "The first of the coniferous trees which we meet is an odd-looking one known as the digger pine."
  • "We know 25 April 1915 was when the 'digger' - one of Australia's most identifiable and beloved icons - dug the first trench into the rocky canyon at Gallipoli that would soon be his grave."