From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdig something ↔ up phrasal verb1 DIGto remove something from the earth using a spade I’ll dig up that plant and move it.2 to remove the surface of an area of ground, road etc, or to make holes in it They’re digging up the road just outside my flat.3 FIND OUTto find hidden or forgotten information by careful searching They tried to dig up something from his past to spoil his chances of being elected. → dig→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dig up• For several days I replanted each morning; the Oscar dug them up.• I added several Large Amazon Swords, which looked great for half an hour before the Oscar dug them up.• Neighbors were coming to dig them up.• Fill that hole. Dig it up again.• Mr Sweet does not want to farm the site, but dig it up for the valuable peat underneath.• And the location of where he dug it up is on every twenty-fifth-century map.• Last time I half dug it up myself and I thought my back was going to go.• They dug it up when they was making the trench for the pipes to the new vehicle examination extension. 