dig up dirt
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Discover damaging information about someone.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
This was interpreted in the Clinton camp as the Major government attempting to give Bush a hand by digging up dirt on Clinton as a Vietnam draft - dodger or pot - smoker.
Just imagine him saying that to a reporter trying to dig up more dirt … trying to stir it up a bit.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “dig up dirt” mean?
Discover damaging information about someone.
Is “dig up dirt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.