dig in
/dɪɡ ɪn/
Meaning
This is an informal, friendly expression used to invite or encourage people to start eating a meal, especially when the food has just been served and is hot. It carries an enthusiastic tone, suggesting that the food is delicious and everyone should enjoy it without waiting.
Examples
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Dinner is served, so please dig in before it gets cold!
Dinner is served, so please dig in before it gets cold!
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Don't wait for me, go ahead and dig in!
Don't wait for me, go ahead and dig in!
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The pizza looked so good that we immediately dug in.
The pizza looked so good that we immediately dug in.
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Everyone sat down at the table and dug in.
Everyone sat down at the table and dug in.
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There's plenty of food for everyone, so dig in!
There's plenty of food for everyone, so dig in!
Common Mistakes
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✗ Let's dig inside the cake.
✓ Let's dig in.
The preposition 'in' is part of the fixed phrasal verb. Changing it to 'inside' changes the meaning completely to literally digging a hole inside something.
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✗ Please dig in the dinner.
✓ Please dig in. / Please dig into the dinner.
'Dig in' is typically intransitive (used without an object). If you want to specify the food, use the phrasal verb 'dig into [the food]'.
Related Expressions
Practice
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The food is on the table, so ___!
💡 Start eating enthusiastically.
Show answer
dig in
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Don't be shy, ___ before the pizza gets cold.
💡 An informal invitation to begin eating.
Show answer
dig in