Query dns/domains in macos using dig and nslookup via the command line

In macos you can query a domain via the command line via default nameservers with a couple of DNS querying tools, notably nslookup and dig, how that works is on the command line:

dig domain.com

or

nslookup domain.com

The results are returned to you on the command line.

Query from a different nameserver

To query another different nameserver using dig or nslookup to look up dns information or check that your nameserver is acting OK – we’ll use the public Google nameservers at:

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

For dig use it on the command line like so:

 dig @8.8.8.8 domain.com

For nslookup:

 nslookup domain.com 8.8.8.8

For nslookup interactively:

nslookup
> server 8.8.8.8
Default server: 8.8.8.8
Address: 8.8.8.8#53
> bbc.com
Server:		8.8.8.8
Address:	8.8.8.8#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:	bbc.com
Address: 212.58.224.138
>

Or make the new nameservers default by permanently adding it to the operating system by hard coding it in the TCP/IP dns settings, for all macos versions use the Network panel in System Preferences: