digger
digger — noun
1. a large vehicle with a metal bucket or scoop at the front, used for breaking up
a large vehicle with a metal bucket or scoop at the front, used for breaking up and moving earth, rocks, or other heavy materials at construction sites or mines.
A yellow digger was loading earth into a truck at the construction site.
collocation: digger + construction site
The crew used a digger to dig a deep trench for the new water pipes.
digger + dig a trench
Sven watched the digger scoop up dirt and drop it into a dump truck.
A digger's metal arm lifted a heavy rock and set it on a flatbed truck.
- excavator
more technical term for the large machine with a cab and long arm; digger is the everyday word
- backhoe
a smaller digging machine with a bucket on the back of a tractor, used for narrower jobs
- mechanical shovel
British English term for a large digging machine with a scoop
文法句型
a digger
the digger
diggers
用法筆記
Digger is less formal than excavator. In construction contexts, excavator is the more technical term for the large machine with a cab and arm, while digger can refer to any digging vehicle including smaller ones like backhoes.
常見錯誤
2. a person or animal that makes holes or tunnels in the ground, usually in order t
a person or animal that makes holes or tunnels in the ground, usually in order to find food, create shelter, or build a home.
Moles are fast diggers that can tunnel through garden soil in just a few seconds.
collocation: fast digger + tunnel through
The rabbit is a natural digger, creating large underground burrows to raise its young.
Ezra watched the badger, a powerful digger, vanish into its sett in the woods.
The dog was a keen digger and often buried its favourite toys in the backyard.
文法句型
a digger
diggers
3. a person who searches for gold in the ground and takes it out, especially by han
a person who searches for gold in the ground and takes it out, especially by hand or with simple tools such as a pan or shovel during a historical gold rush.
During the 1860s gold rush, Tariro worked as a digger in Australia.
historical context: gold rush + gold fields
The old photograph showed diggers with pans and shovels beside a river.
Many diggers travelled to California hoping to find enough gold to change their lives.
Caio read a book about diggers searching for gold in the Klondike region of Canada.
- gold miner
the modern standard term for someone who mines gold, whether historically or today
- prospector
a person who searches for valuable minerals, often before any mine is set up
- forty-niner
a specific term for a digger who went to California in the 1849 gold rush
文法句型
a digger
diggers
用法筆記
This sense is strongly associated with 19th-century gold rushes (California 1849, Australia 1851, Klondike 1896). Modern gold miners are usually called miners, not diggers.
常見錯誤
4. a term of pride and respect for a soldier from Australia, most closely linked to
a term of pride and respect for a soldier from Australia, most closely linked to those who served on the battlefields of World War I from 1914 to 1918.
The museum has a special exhibit about the Diggers who fought at Gallipoli in 1915.
capitalized: Diggers + Gallipoli campaign
Each Anzac Day, Australians honour the Diggers who fought in World War I.
Charlotte's great-grandfather was a Digger who fought on the Western Front in France.
The town square has a statue of a Digger with a rifle and a helmet.
- Australian soldier
the standard, neutral term for any member of the Australian army
- Anzac
a soldier from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli; broader than Digger as it includes New Zealanders
文法句型
the Diggers
a Digger
用法筆記
When referring to Australian soldiers, the word is often capitalized as Digger. The term carries strong cultural pride and is most frequently used on Anzac Day (April 25) and in discussions of Australian military history. It is not commonly used for modern Australian soldiers, who are usually called soldiers or defence personnel.