dugout

noun dugouts · dug-out

1. A canoe made from a hollowed-out log. Kurtz had apparently intended to return himself, the station being by that time bare of goods and stores, but after coming three hundred miles, had suddenly decided to go back, which he started to do alone in a small dug-out with four paddlers, leaving the half-caste to continue down the river with

   Similar: dugout canoe, logboat, periagua

2. historical, slang Someone with old-fashioned or outdated ideas, an old fogey; especially, an elderly soldier brought in for temporary service. Directly war comes, therefore, there is a shift all round, and a new untried man—usually a dug-out in an advanced state of decay—is stuck into the job.
3. slang A small portable case for equipment used to smoke marijuana.
4. Canadian Prairies A pit used to catch and store rainwater or runoff.
5. A rough dwelling consisting of an excavation in the ground, typically roofed with turf or basic sheeting.
6. Hence, a shelter used in trench warfare, used for simple accommodation out of enemy fire. The key unit of life here is the dugout – what the soldiers call a ‘blindage’ – an underground burrow where half a dozen men share the narrow space between the bunks with weapons, ammunition, biscuits, tea bags, and a jumble of other essentials (there is also usually a cat, not to mention the mice).
7. A sunken shelter at the side of a sports field where non-playing team members and staff can sit during a game. Redknapp is expected to be back in the dugout when Spurs play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday but it was left to his assistant Kevin Bond to take a young team to Russia looking for the win that would put them through to the last 32.