dig vs dig out

dig

verb
  • To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up. 

  • To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More generally, to make any similar hole by moving material out of the way. 

  • To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore. 

  • To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball 

  • To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up. 

  • To thrust; to poke. 

noun
  • Digoxin. 

  • A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team. 

  • A cutting, sarcastic remark. 

  • An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place. 

  • A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand. 

  • A thrust; a poke. 

  • The occupation of digging for gold. 

  • An innings. 

dig out

verb
  • To make something by digging. 

  • To block a yorker with the bottom of the bat, at the last second. 

  • To have penetrative sexual intercourse with someone. 

  • To remove something by digging. 

  • To decamp; to leave a place hastily. 

  • To find or retrieve something buried. 

How often have the words dig and dig out occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )