excavator
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that excavates.
-
a power-driven machine for digging, moving, or transporting loose gravel, sand, or soil.
-
a sharp, spoonlike instrument used for scraping out diseased tissue, as in dentistry.
Etymology
Origin of excavator
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the meantime, Interlune is testing an autonomous excavator and building a research factory in Texas.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
Just to the north, where the village is known as Ban Nong Chan, Thai soldiers stood guard in front of an excavator filling a truck with debris during a military-organised media tour.
From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026
“This is a historic day,” Ben-Gvir said as a yellow excavator behind him pushed into one of the compound’s walls, drowning out his voice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
"We've gained access to an agricultural field through negotiation with the farmer, we've got a fantastic machine called a Menzi Muck, which is actually a walking excavator," Hardin said.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
It had left a trail of destruction wider than a tunnel excavator.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
