excavate
verb (used with object)
to make hollow by removing the inner part; make a hole or cavity in; form into a hollow, as by digging.
excavating
-
present participleof excavate.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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.
Paleontologists have been excavating this material for nearly two centuries.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
In Omaha, he cycled through various careers: He started his own excavating business, then began farming, with Warren Buffett later purchasing a farm for him to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Nepal rescuers are still excavating hydropower tunnels swamped by freezing mud, with hundreds of workers among the missing.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Thomas Heitkamp and the team that discovered Gus - named after the late Gary "Gus" Licking, a cattle rancher whose land it was found on - spent three years carefully excavating.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Archaeologists excavating 30,000-year-old Sapiens sites in the European heartland occasionally find there seashells from the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
