Drill vs. Dig — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Urooj Arif — Updated on March 18, 2024
Drill is to make holes using a tool, while dig refers to removing soil or material to create a hole or cavity.
Difference Between Drill and Dig
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Drilling is a precision activity that involves creating holes in solid materials like wood, metal, or concrete using a drill bit powered by a tool. This process is often used in construction, manufacturing, and DIY projects, where the size, depth, and precision of the hole are important. Digging, on the other hand, is a broader action that usually involves moving or removing soil, sand, or other loose materials, often with tools like shovels or spades. It is commonly associated with gardening, construction, and archaeological excavations.
The tools used for drilling and digging differ significantly. Drills, whether manual or electric, are designed to penetrate hard surfaces and are chosen based on the material and the precision required. Digging tools, like shovels and excavators, are selected based on the volume of material to be moved and the nature of the ground.
The purpose and outcome of drilling and digging also vary. Drilling is typically done to prepare for fastening, to create space for installing something, or to extract core samples. Digging can be for purposes such as planting, constructing foundations, or creating trenches and pits. It's more about creating space or preparing the land for a specific use.
Precision is a key differentiating factor. Drilling allows for precise control over the diameter and depth of the hole, critical in many technical applications. Digging, while it can be done with care, is generally less about precision and more about volume or area.
The contexts in which drilling and digging are used highlight their differences. Drilling is common in tasks requiring detail and accuracy, such as carpentry, metalwork, and electrical installations. Digging is more often seen in larger-scale projects like construction, landscaping, and archaeological sites, where broader changes to the environment are needed.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Creating holes using a tool
Removing soil or material
Tools
Drills (electric, manual)
Shovels, spades, excavators
Purpose
Fastening, installing, sampling
Planting, constructing, excavating
Precision
High precision in size and depth
Generally less precise, more about volume
Context
Carpentry, metalwork, electrical work
Construction, landscaping, archaeology
Compare with Definitions
Drill
Use of a drill for boring holes.
The carpenter drilled through the hardwood effortlessly.
Dig
Creating space or preparing land.
The children loved to dig in the sandbox.
Drill
Precision work in construction or crafting.
Drill a pilot hole before inserting the screw.
Dig
Action performed in gardening or construction.
We'll need to dig deep to lay the foundation.
Drill
Process involving a rotating drill bit.
Drilling into metal requires a special bit.
Dig
To remove soil or material to form a hole.
They began to dig a hole for the new tree.
Drill
To create precise holes in materials.
We need to drill holes in the wall to hang the painting.
Dig
Broad activity involving moving earth.
Archaeologists dig carefully to preserve artifacts.
Drill
Activity requiring electrical or manual tools.
Always wear safety glasses when you drill.
Dig
Use of tools to excavate or turn over soil.
Digging the garden over will help incorporate the compost.
Drill
A drill or drilling machine is a tool primarily used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver, depending on application, secured by a chuck.
Dig
To break up, turn over, or remove (earth or sand, for example), as with a shovel, spade, or snout, or with claws, paws or hands.
Drill
A tool or machine with a rotating cutting tip or reciprocating hammer or chisel, used for making holes.
Dig
To make or form by removing earth or other material
Dig a trench.
Dug my way out of the snow.
Drill
Instruction or training in military exercises
Parade-ground drill
Dig
To prepare (soil) by loosening or cultivating.
Drill
A predatory mollusc that bores into the shells of other molluscs in order to feed on the soft tissue.
Dig
To obtain or unearth by digging
Dig coal out of a seam.
Dug potatoes from a field.
Drill
A machine which makes small furrows, sows seed in them, and then covers the seed with earth.
Dig
To obtain or find by an action similar to digging
Dug a dollar out of his pocket.
Dug the puck out of the corner.
Drill
A dark brown baboon with a short tail and a naked blue or purple rump, found in the rainforests of West Africa.
Dig
To learn or discover by careful research or investigation
Dug up the evidence.
Dug out the real facts.
Drill
A coarse twilled cotton or linen fabric
Top quality cotton drill with reinforced seams
Sturdy clothes in drill, denim and linen
Dig
To force down and into something; thrust
Dug his foot in the ground.
Drill
Produce (a hole) in something by or as if by boring with a drill
Drill holes through the tiles for the masonry pins
Dig
To poke or prod
Dug me in the ribs.
Drill
Subject (someone) to military training exercises
A sergeant was drilling new recruits
Dig
(Sports) To strike or redirect (a ball) just before it hits the ground, keeping it in play, as in tennis or volleyball.
Drill
Sow (seed) with a drill
Crops drilled in autumn
Dig
To understand fully
Do you dig what I mean?.
Drill
An implement with cutting edges or a pointed end for boring holes in hard materials, usually by a rotating abrasion or repeated blows; a bit.
Dig
To like, enjoy, or appreciate
"They really dig our music and, daddy, I dig swinging for them" (Louis Armstrong).
Drill
The hand-operated or hand-powered holder for this implement.
Dig
To take notice of
Dig that wild outfit.
Drill
A loud, harsh noise made by or as if by a powered tool of this kind.
Dig
To loosen, turn over, or remove earth or other material.
Drill
Disciplined, repetitious exercise as a means of teaching and perfecting a skill or procedure.
Dig
To make one's way by or as if by pushing aside or removing material
Dug through the files.
Drill
A task or exercise for teaching a skill or procedure by repetition
Conducted an air-raid drill.
A drill for learning the multiplication tables.
Dig
(Slang) To have understanding
Do you dig?.
Drill
The training of soldiers in marching and the manual of arms.
Dig
A poke or thrust
A sharp dig in the ribs.
Drill
Any of various marine gastropod mollusks, chiefly of the genus Urosalpinx, that bore holes into the shells of bivalve mollusks. U. cinera is destructive to oysters.
Dig
A sarcastic, taunting remark; a gibe.
Drill
A shallow trench or furrow in which seeds are planted.
Dig
An archaeological excavation.
Drill
A row of planted seeds.
Dig
(Sports) An act or an instance of digging a ball.
Drill
A machine or implement for planting seeds in holes or furrows.
Dig
Digs Lodgings.
Drill
Durable cotton or linen twill of varying weights, generally used for work clothes.
Dig
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.should this be split into senses?
They dug an eight-foot ditch along the side of the road.
In the wintertime, heavy truck tires dig into the road, forming potholes.
If the plane can't pull out of the dive it is in, it'll dig a hole in the ground.
My seven-year-old son always digs a hole in the middle of his mashed potatoes and fills it with gravy before he starts to eat them.
Drill
A large monkey (Mandrillus leucophaeus) of west-central African forests, having an olive brown body and a brightly colored face and resembling the mandrill.
Dig
(transitive) To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up.
To dig potatoes
To dig up gold
Drill
To make a hole in (a hard material) with a drill
A bit for drilling masonry.
Dig
(mining) To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
Drill
To make (a hole) with or as if with a drill
Drills holes in trees with its chisellike bill.
Dig
To work like a digger; to study ploddingly and laboriously.
Drill
To strike or hit sharply
The batter drilled a single through the infield.
Dig
(figurative) To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up.
To dig up evidence
To dig out the facts
Drill
To instruct thoroughly by repetition in a skill or procedure
Drill pupils in grammar.
Dig
To understand, to like.
Drill
To infuse knowledge of or skill in by repetitious instruction
Drilled the correct spellings into the students' heads.
Dig
To thrust; to poke.
He dug an elbow into my ribs and guffawed at his own joke.
Drill
To train (soldiers) in marching and the manual of arms.
Dig
(volleyball) To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball
Drill
To make a hole with or as if with a drill.
Dig
To understand.
You dig?
Drill
To perform a training exercise.
Dig
To appreciate, or like.
Baby, I dig you.
Drill
To sow (seeds) in rows.
Dig
An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place.
Drill
To plant (a field) in drills.
Dig
A thrust; a poke.
He guffawed and gave me a dig in the ribs after telling his latest joke.
Drill
(transitive) To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill tool.
Drill a small hole to start the screw in the right direction.
Dig
(volleyball) A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team.
Drill
(intransitive) To practice, especially in (or as in) a military context.
They drilled daily to learn the routine exactly.
Dig
(cricket) An innings.
Drill
(ergative) To cause to drill practice; to train in military arts.
The sergeant was up by 6:00 every morning, drilling his troops.
Dig
A cutting, sarcastic remark.
Drill
(transitive) To repeat an idea frequently in order to encourage someone to remember it.
The instructor drilled into us the importance of reading the instructions.
Dig
The occupation of digging for gold.
Drill
To investigate or examine something in more detail or at a different level
Drill deeper and you may find the underlying assumptions faulty.
Dig
A plodding and laborious student.
Drill
(transitive) To hit or kick with a lot of power.
Dig
A tool for digging.
Drill
(baseball) To hit someone with a pitch, especially in an intentional context.
Dig
A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand.
A £1 charity shop dig
Drill
(transitive) To sow (seeds) by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row.
Dig
Digoxin.
Dig toxicity
Drill
(transitive) To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling.
Waters drilled through a sandy stratum
Dig
To turn up, or delve in, (earth) with a spade or a hoe; to open, loosen, or break up (the soil) with a spade, or other sharp instrument; to pierce, open, or loosen, as if with a spade.
Be first to dig the ground.
Drill
To protract, lengthen out; fritter away, spend (time) aimlessly.
Quit purposely drilling out the time hoping that someone else will do your chores.
Dig
To get by digging; as, to dig potatoes, or gold.
Drill
To entice or allure; to decoy; with on.
Dig
To hollow out, as a well; to form, as a ditch, by removing earth; to excavate; as, to dig a ditch or a well.
Drill
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
Dig
To thrust; to poke.
You should have seen children . . . dig and push their mothers under the sides, saying thus to them: Look, mother, how great a lubber doth yet wear pearls.
Drill
A tool used to remove material so as to create a hole, typically by plunging a rotating cutting bit into a stationary workpiece.
Wear safety glasses when operating an electric drill.
Dig
To like; enjoy; admire.
Drill
The portion of a drilling tool that drives the bit.
Use a drill with a wire brush to remove any rust or buildup.
Dig
To work with a spade or other like implement; to do servile work; to delve.
Dig for it more than for hid treasures.
I can not dig; to beg I am ashamed.
Drill
An activity done as an exercise or practice (especially a military exercise), particularly in preparation for some possible future event or occurrence.
Regular fire drills can ensure that everyone knows how to exit safely in an emergency.
Dig
To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore.
Drill
A short and highly repeatable sports training exercise designed to hone a particular skill that may be useful in competition.
Dig
To work hard or drudge;
Peter dug at his books all the harder.
Drill
Any of several molluscs, of the genus Urosalpinx, especially the oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea), that drill holes in the shells of other animals.
Dig
Of a tool: To cut deeply into the work because ill set, held at a wrong angle, or the like, as when a lathe tool is set too low and so sprung into the work.
Drill
A style of trap music with gritty, violent lyrics, originating on the South Side of Chicago.
Dig
To understand; as, do you dig me?.
Drill
An agricultural implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
Dig
To notice; to look at; as, dig that crazy hat!.
Drill
A light furrow or channel made to put seed into, when sowing.
Dig
To appreciate and enjoy; as, he digs classical music as well as rock.
Drill
A row of seed sown in a furrow.
Dig
A plodding and laborious student.
Drill
(obsolete) A small trickling stream; a rill.
Dig
A tool for digging.
Drill
An Old World monkey of West Africa, Mandrillus leucophaeus, similar in appearance to the mandrill, but lacking the colorful face.
Dig
An act of digging.
Drill
A strong, durable cotton fabric with a strong bias (diagonal) in the weave.
Dig
An amount to be dug.
Drill
To pierce or bore with a drill, or a with a drill; to perforate; as, to drill a hole into a rock; to drill a piece of metal.
Dig
Same as Gouge.
Drill
To train in the military art; to exercise diligently, as soldiers, in military evolutions and exercises; hence, to instruct thoroughly in the rudiments of any art or branch of knowledge; to discipline.
He [Frederic the Great] drilled his people, as he drilled his grenadiers.
Dig
A critical and sometimes sarcastic or insulting remark, but often good-humored; as, celebrities at a roast must suffer through countless digs.
Drill
To practice an exercise or exercises; to train one's self.
Dig
An archeological excavation site.
Drill
To cause to flow in drills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum.
Dig
The site of an archeological exploration;
They set up camp next to the dig
Drill
To sow, as seeds, by dribbling them along a furrow or in a row, like a trickling rill of water.
Dig
A small gouge (as in the cover of a book);
The book was in good condition except for a dig in the back cover
Drill
To entice; to allure from step; to decoy; - with on.
See drilled him on to five-fifty.
Dig
The act of digging;
There's an interesting excavation going on near Princeton
Drill
To cause to slip or waste away by degrees.
This accident hath drilled away the whole summer.
Dig
The act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow;
She gave me a sharp dig in the ribs
Drill
To trickle.
Dig
Turn up, loosen, or remove earth;
Dig we must
Turn over the soil for aeration
Drill
To sow in drills.
Dig
Create by digging;
Dig a hole
Dig out a channel
Drill
An instrument with an edged or pointed end used for making holes in hard substances; strictly, a tool that cuts with its end, by revolving, as in drilling metals, or by a succession of blows, as in drilling stone; also, a drill press.
Dig
Work hard;
She was digging away at her math homework
Lexicographers drudge all day long
Drill
The act or exercise of training soldiers in the military art, as in the manual of arms, in the execution of evolutions, and the like; hence, diligent and strict instruction and exercise in the rudiments and methods of any business; a kind or method of military exercises; as, infantry drill; battalion drill; artillery drill.
Dig
Remove the inner part or the core of;
The mining company wants to excavate the hillsite
Drill
Any exercise, physical or mental, enforced with regularity and by constant repetition; as, a severe drill in Latin grammar.
Dig
Poke or thrust abruptly;
He jabbed his finger into her ribs
Drill
A small trickling stream; a rill.
Springs through the pleasant meadows pour their drills.
Dig
Get the meaning of something;
Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?
Drill
An implement for making holes for sowing seed, and sometimes so formed as to contain seeds and drop them into the hole made.
Drill
A large African baboon (Cynocephalus leucophæus).
Drill
Same as Drilling.
Drill
A tool with a sharp point and cutting edges for making holes in hard materials (usually rotating rapidly or by repeated blows)
Drill
Similar to the mandrill but smaller and less brightly colored
Drill
Systematic training by multiple repetitions;
Practice makes perfect
Drill
(military) the training of soldiers to march (as in ceremonial parades) or to perform the manual of arms
Drill
Make a hole with a pointed power or hand tool;
Don't drill here, there's a gas pipe
Drill a hole into the wall
Drill for oil
Drill
Train in the military, e.g., in the use of weapons
Drill
Learn by repetition;
We drilled French verbs every day
Pianists practice scales
Drill
Teach by repetition
Drill
Undergo military training or do military exercises
Common Curiosities
Can digging be done without tools?
Yes, it can be done manually, especially in softer materials like sand or loose soil, but tools make the process more efficient.
How do you choose between drilling and digging?
The choice depends on the task: drilling for precise holes and digging for moving or removing soil or material.
What is the main purpose of drilling?
The main purpose is to create precise holes for fastening, installing components, or sampling.
How does the technique differ between drilling and digging?
Drilling requires steady pressure and rotation to bore into materials, while digging involves loosening and removing material.
Is drilling only applicable to construction?
No, drilling is used in various fields, including construction, manufacturing, woodworking, and metalworking.
What determines the depth of a drill hole?
The drill bit size and the power of the drill, along with the operator's control, determine the depth.
Why is it important to dig responsibly?
To prevent damage to ecosystems, archaeological sites, and underground utilities.
Can the same tools be used for drilling and digging?
Generally no, as each task requires specialized tools designed for precision or moving volume.
What safety equipment is needed for drilling?
Safety glasses, hearing protection, and sometimes gloves are recommended to protect against debris and noise.
What materials can be drilled into?
Almost any material, including wood, metal, concrete, and plastic, depending on the drill bit used.
Can drilling and digging be combined in a project?
Yes, both may be used in projects like construction and landscaping, where precise holes and larger excavations are needed.
Are there environmental impacts to consider with digging?
Yes, digging can disturb habitats, soil composition, and drainage, requiring careful planning and execution.
How is drilling precision achieved?
Through the use of specific drill bits and careful control of the drill speed and pressure.
How has technology improved drilling and digging?
Advances in tool design and power sources have made both processes more efficient, precise, and safer.
Can digging affect underground utilities?
Yes, it's important to check for underground utilities before digging to avoid damaging them.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
