excavate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make hollow by removing the inner part; make a hole or cavity in; form into a hollow, as by digging.
The ground was excavated for a foundation.
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to make (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing material.
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to dig or scoop out (earth, sand, etc.).
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to expose or lay bare by or as if by digging; unearth.
to excavate an ancient city.
verb
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to remove (soil, earth, etc) by digging; dig out
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to make (a hole, cavity, or tunnel) in (solid matter) by hollowing or removing the centre or inner part
to excavate a tooth
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to unearth (buried objects) methodically in an attempt to discover information about the past
Other Word Forms
- excavation noun
- reexcavate verb (used with object)
- unexcavated adjective
Etymology
Origin of excavate
1590–1600; < Latin excavātus (past participle of excavāre to hollow out), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + cav ( um ) hollow, cave + -ātus -ate 1
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.
Scientists and archaeologists have already unearthed other remains of pre-Hispanic cultures in the region that has been excavated for two decades.
From Barron's
The Hjortspring boat was discovered on the Danish island of Als and first excavated in the early 1900s.
From Science Daily
North Lanarkshire Council has now confirmed the fire has been extinguished after around 30,000 tonnes of material was excavated from the site.
From BBC
"It's very rocky, and the fossils are in cliffs on the shore. Paleontologists hate excavating in cliffs, because the cliff could come down on you."
From Science Daily
It was one thing to excavate a stone from the archway, but how were they going to explain a five-foot-tall rabbit with golden antlers?
From Literature
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.
