unearthing
/ʌnˈɜːθ/ (bre, ipa) · [ənˈɚθɪŋ] /ʌnˈɝːθ/ (ame, ipa)
unearthing — verb
- unearthingpresent simple I / you / we / they
- unearthings3rd person singular
- unearthinging-ing form
- unearthingedpast simple
1. to dig something out of the ground, bringing it to the surface after it has been
to dig something out of the ground, bringing it to the surface after it has been buried for a long time, often by accident or during construction work
Workers unearthed a Roman coin while digging the foundation for a new school building.
passive agent: Workers unearthed … while digging
The team of archaeologists spent three weeks unearthing the remains of an old temple near the river.
duration pattern: spent [time] unearthing
A farmer unearthed a giant fossil when he was plowing his field just outside the village.
During the road construction, the builders unearthed several clay pots that were more than a thousand years old.
Elena unearthed an old metal box filled with silver coins buried under the floor of the barn.
- bury
to put something into the ground and cover it
文法句型
unearth + noun phrase (what is found)
用法筆記
Subject is often a person, a team of workers, or a machine doing construction or excavation. The object is usually a physical object such as bones, tools, pottery, or treasure.
常見錯誤
2. to discover something that someone was deliberately keeping secret or hidden, of
to discover something that someone was deliberately keeping secret or hidden, often revealing wrongdoing, a scandal, or a personal truth
The old love letters unearthed a family secret that no one had ever spoken about.
subject is the thing that reveals (letters)
Gabriel unearthed documents showing that the company had been hiding its losses for years.
unearth + documents showing [that-clause]
While cleaning the attic, Lotte unearthed photographs proving her grandmother had secretly worked as a nurse during the war.
The police investigation unearthed evidence of a secret payment system used by the former manager.
- discover
more general; does not imply the thing was deliberately hidden
- uncover
very close in meaning; 'uncover' is slightly more common for secrets
- bring to light
idiomatic expression emphasising the shift from hidden to known
文法句型
unearth + noun phrase (the hidden thing)
用法筆記
Object can be either concrete (documents, photographs) or abstract (secrets, scandals, truth). Unlike sense 3 (DISCOVER INFO), here the information was deliberately kept secret by someone — often because it involves wrongdoing or sensitive personal matters.
常見錯誤
3. to find important information, data, or proof by searching very carefully and in
to find important information, data, or proof by searching very carefully and in great detail, especially in research, news reporting, or legal work
Historians unearthed government records that proved the city had been built over an ancient burial ground.
subject: historians; object: records + that-clause
A team of researchers unearthed data that changed the way doctors treat the disease.
subject: research team; object: data + that-clause
Devika unearthed information that connected the politician to secret meetings with foreign lobbyists.
After months of searching through old records, the detective unearthed proof of the fraud.
A consumer group unearthed evidence that some food labels were misleading customers about the sugar content.
Kofi unearthed facts from the budget reports that no one in the finance department had noticed before.
- dig up
informal phrasal verb; 'I dug up some interesting facts online'
- ferret out
more informal, emphasises determined searching through small details
- ascertain
formal; focuses on establishing a fact as certain
文法句型
unearth + noun phrase (data / evidence / facts)
用法筆記
Common in academic, news, and legal contexts. The search is deliberate and often takes a long time. Unlike sense 2 (REVEAL HIDDEN), the information here was not deliberately kept secret — it was simply difficult to access, buried in large amounts of data, or long forgotten in archives.