excavate

American

[eks-kuh-veyt] / ˈɛks kəˌveɪt /

verb (used with object)

excavated, excavating

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.
to make (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing material.
to dig or scoop out (earth, sand, etc.).
to expose or lay bare by or as if by digging; unearth.

to excavate an ancient city.

excavate British

/ ˈɛkskəˌveɪt /

verb

to remove (soil, earth, etc) by digging; dig out
to make (a hole, cavity, or tunnel) in (solid matter) by hollowing or removing the centre or inner part

to excavate a tooth
to unearth (buried objects) methodically in an attempt to discover information about the past

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023