Meaning & use
my digs
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Meanings
phrasepluralinformalBritish
the place where I live, especially rented rooms or a small apartment
Grammar: Always used with a plural verb: my digs are clean. It is informal and mainly British.
Patterns
- my digs are …
- live in digs
- find digs
I'm moving into my new digs next week.
My digs are small but very close to the university.
She invited us over to her digs for dinner.
phrasepluralinformalBritish
a room or rooms rented from a landlord, often by a student or worker
Grammar: Often used without 'my': to live in digs. The plural form is fixed.
Patterns
- in digs
- student digs
- rented digs
He spent his first year in student digs.
The digs were cheap but noisy.
They found digs near the hospital where they worked.
Common combinations
- my digs
- My digs are just around the corner.
- student digs
- Student digs are often small and basic.
- live in digs
- Many young teachers live in digs at first.
- find digs
- It took me weeks to find decent digs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- accommodation
- Accommodation is a neutral, general word for a place to stay; 'digs' is informal and suggests rented rooms.
- lodgings
- Lodgings is slightly more formal and also means rented rooms, but it is not as common in everyday speech.
- place
- Place is a very general word for where you live; 'digs' is more specific and informal.
Commonly confused: my digs or digs?
my digs vs digs
As a verb, 'digs' means 'breaks up earth' or 'likes something' (informal). The noun 'digs' meaning a home is a different, unrelated use.
Practice
I'm staying in ______ while I look for a flat.
Choose one answer.
'Digs' is the plural noun meaning rented rooms. 'Dig' and 'digging' are verb forms and do not fit the phrase 'in digs'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “my digs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.